Walks & Events
UPCOMING EVENTS: JUNE 2025
TO REGISTER: click here, or email info@historic-shanghai.com
POSTPONED Saturday June 14, 7.30pm SUMMER MOVIES IN THE GARDEN: Long Live the Missus (1947, screenplay by Eileen Chang. 1 hour, 47 minutes) /RMB 100 members, 200 nonmembers Stay tuned for new dates!
Sunday June 15, 10am Treasures & Tombstones in Yangpu /RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers
A treasure hunt in the northeastern district of Shanghai!
In a rarely explored verdant park, we’ll hunt down a surprising treasure: a scattering of century-old gravestones from Shanghai cemeteries, repurposed in the 1950s as paving stones. Who are these people whose memorials edge the summer lotuses in the pond, why are they here, and what can they tell us about Old Shanghai?
We’ll enjoy the park’s morning dancers, the summer trees and flowers, and then head off to explore treasure of a different kind–an old-fashioned “Bird, Flower, and Antique Market,” where vendors spread an endless array of goods out in a sprawling market space, with sections for songbirds, summer crickets, and flowers. TO REGISTER: click here.
Saturday June 21, 2pm CITY OF DEVILS: Slot Machines, Showgirls & Gangsters ~ Old Shanghai’s Underworld /RMB 300 members, 400 nonmembers, (bus + walking tour, includes private bus)
City of Devils by Paul French recounts the incredible—but (mostly) true!–Shanghai tale of escaped convict “Lucky” Jack Riley and “Dapper Joe” Farren, the penniless Vienna Jew who ruled the underworld of Shanghai on the eve of World War II. On this tour, we’ll trace their story, and see the places where their rise and dramatic fall unfolded–remarkably, many remain: the nightclubs and casinos, the hideouts, courts, and secret police, the Frenchtown penthouses and Hongkew flats. It’s an incredible story set against the backdrop of an incredible city. TO REGISTER: click here.
You don’t have to have read City of Devils to come on the tour … but it will make it more enjoyable!
Sunday June 22, 3pm JUNE BOOK CLUB: Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch (1943) /RMB 100 members, 200 nonmembers
Maiden Voyage is a fictionalized account of writer and artist Denton Welch’s sixteenth year, in 1931, when he ran away from his English public school and went to Shanghai to live with his father. Welch, the eternal outsider, narrates his adventures in Shanghai, exploring the edges of his ambitions, aspirations, and secret desires—the love that does not speak its name. Written with an artist’s powers of keen observation and precisely realized details of his physical and social surroundings, it’s a remarkable coming of age tale. TO REGISTER: click here.
“If ever there was a writer who was neglected, it was Denton. He makes you aware of the magic that is right beneath your eyes.” – William Burroughs
Saturday June 28, 10am OUT OF THE CITY: Caoyang New Village and Zhenru Temple /RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers
It’s the most famous ancient temple you’ve never heard of, neighboring the most famous 1950s heritage architecture that you’ve never heard of. Tranquil Zhenru Temple, with its 800 years of history, is one of Shanghai’s four major Buddhist temples, featuring one of the city’s finest pagodas.
A pleasant walk through the neighborhood brings you to Caoyuan New Village, China’s very first community purpose-built for its workers. Opened in 1951, the attractive low-rise buildings, interspersed with green space, were inspired by the concept of the “neighborhood unit”—what we would call today the “15-minute city”. This prime housing was the first in New China to have schools, shops, parks, and amenities a short walk away. Two landmarks from two very different periods of Shanghai history! TO REGISTER: click here.
NEW Sunday June 29, 10am AVENUE JOFFRE: Behind the Glitzy Façades /RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers
Behind the glitzy façades and famous brands on Huaihai Lu lies another world, a world that has existed since this street was known as Avenue Joffre. Leave the shoppers behind, and come with us to magnificent lanes, crafted by some of Shanghai’s most famous architects; twin mansions with the surprise of a rooftop temple; a rare surviving early 20th century villa with an illustrious history, and more! Even along the bustling street, we’ll find traces of the past, from heritage food to jasmine vendors. TO REGISTER: click here.
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