This paper examines the practical experiences and perceptions of “TingziJian” (亭子間) as writers’ residential space in 1930s Shanghai. The TingziJian refers to a type of small room in the LiLong house, a communal housing in Shanghai, typically situated above the kitchen and below the veranda, or attached to the hallway stairs between the main room and the outer room. In the late 1920s, large numbers of writers from various regions migrated to Shanghai, and among them, emerging writers with insufficient financial supports opted for the more affordable TingziJian accommodations. The basic conditions of living in the TingziJian were poor, especially unpreventable to unpleasant odors and noise, making it barely functional as an independent residential space. As a result, writers often expressed their frustration with the squalid conditions of the TingziJian through their literary works, reinforcing its image as a cheap yet substandard residential space within the LiLong housing. Nevertheless, in real life, writers took full advantage of this low rent, recognizing the TingziJian as a space that overlapped both residential and working functions, used this space practically.