It belonged to Rong Zongjing, a Chinese industrialist and national capitalist during the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China who was known as the "King of Flour".
Rong Zhai was designed in an Eclecticism style with reinforced concrete structure by Chen Chunjiang.
The house was also rented to the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch in 2002 for ten years while he used it as his Shanghai office for the News Corporation.
After Murdoch's lease was terminated, the house was rented to Prada in 2011 for a ten-year tenancy, with the intent to use it for "product promotion like fashion shows, public activities and exhibitions".
[2] In 2004, the Rong Zhai was listed as a Culture Relic Protection Site of Jing'an district and honored with Heritage Architecture by Shanghai Municipal Government in 2005.