Paul French on “City of Devils”
This Saturday (June 21, 2pm) we're taking a walk through the story of City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir, so we're reprising our interview with author Paul French - all about interwar underworld Shanghai, rumor and gossip, old Shanghai's soundscape, and Paul's reading recommendations. To book the walk, click ...
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Exploring Shanghai’s Literary Heritage: Murder in the Maloo
//by Susan Blumberg-Kason// April 2025 Book Club selection. Paul Bevan, who translated the novel, will join us for the discussion on April 27. To book, click here. Paul Bevan is the one of the most prominent scholars of early 20th-century Shanghai, and it is thanks to his works like A Modern Miscellany and ...
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The Shanghai Paper Hunt
Our April 4 walk takes us to Historic Hongqiao, where Shanghailanders partook in all kinds of outdoor activities, none stranger or more quintessentially Old Shanghai than the Paper Hunt. "In the beginning, as we can well understand, means of recreation were somewhat limited. Indeed, an old resident has described ...
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Memories of Chinese New Year in Old Shanghai
新年快乐！Xin Nian Kuai Le! As we welcome the Year of the Snake in a world of WeChat hongbaos and electronic firecrackers, we wondered: what was Chinese New Year like in old Shanghai? So we went to the experts: the men and women who grew up here. Here are their memories of Shanghai Chinese New Years past, from the 1930s ...
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The Soong House on Seymour Road: A Pictorial Tour
There are several Soong houses in Shanghai that you can visit, but the modest house on Shaanxi Bei Lu that was the family home for more than a decade is not open to the public. So, for your viewing pleasure, some photos (from our private 2020 visit)! The Soong front door Original tile, front door Just inside ...
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The Kidnapping of Wei Tingrong
By Dan Stein // On July 24, 1929, Wei Tingrong’s chauffeur picked him up at the prestigious Sino-French Bank, where he was the boss. The sophisticated, dapper French-speaking Wei was near the apex of Shanghai Chinese society, with wealth and influence unimaginable for most of his countrymen. Wei Tingrong But just as ...
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McTyeire: The School for China’s Daughters
Young women in smart uniforms run down the wide steps, ponytails flying, laughing and talking. Clusters of girls sit and chat on the green lawn that fronts the grand building with its own turret. At first glance, they seem like adolescent girls anywhere, but look closer, and the girls of the Shanghai No.3 Girls’ Middle ...
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