Historic Shanghai

This week marks the 36th anniversary of the signing of the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, the world-startling diplomatic letter that marked the beginning of the rapprochement between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. The communiqué was signed at the end of a week-long visit to China by President Richard M. Nixon, his wife, […]

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Yes, the British led the imperialist charge into China in the mid-1800s, and yes, they were at the forefront in economics, politics and horse-racing in old Shanghai. But the Americans were never far behind, and in the field of journalism, the Yankees more than held their own.

Or at least that is how J.B. Powell […]

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The 1907 Garden Bridge (in Chinese, the Waibaidu Qiao) is one of those rarest of historic treasures in Shanghai: an original structure that is still being used for the same purpose for which it was built. Imagine our shock, then, when we read recently that the Garden Bridge was to “vanish.”
No need to panic. […]

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Shanghai is associated with Jazz mostly because “Big Band” dance music was the international style of preference during the city’s romanticized “golden age” in the 1920s and 30s. But Jazz had a relatively short and limited impact in China’s City that Never Sleeps. The recent resurgence of interest in Jazz in Shanghai, while […]

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THE WORST-PRESERVED HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN SHANGHAI
Historic Shanghai hereby announces the establishment of “The Black List” of the worst-preserved historic buildings in Shanghai. Yes, the Black List is an effort to shame the voracious destroyers of this great city’s heritage, but it is also meant to educate the public about what proper historic renovation is […]

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A band of intrepid Britishers has revived the Shanghai branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), 150 years after its establishment. The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in London in 1823 “for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia.” The early focus of the […]

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This photo, recently discovered in a private collection, shows a billboard that was part of Shanghai-based ad-man Carl Crow’s extensive outdoor advertising network in eastern China in the 1930s. Writes Crow biographer and China business pundit Paul French, “Carl made good money erecting these specially designed stands and selling the space. Much better than […]

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