A shikumen ('stone gate') house in Shanghai's French Concession. Shikumen became popular in the 1860s, and in the latter part of the 19th century were the most common middle-class housing in Shanghai. They are a city adaptation of traditional courtyard houses, with higher and better protected walls and a narrower courtyard. View from living room to courtyard (French windows closed). The large gate that gives this kind of house its name is on the far side of the courtyard.