Upcoming Walks & Events

SEPTEMBER 2026

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WALK

Saturday September 5, 10am

Beyond the Neon Lights: People’s Square

RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers

In the heart of Shanghai’s old neon-lit entertainment district–now People’s Square–lies one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Forgotten, mostly. 

But here, beyond the neon lights, is a whole world: thriving lane neighborhoods and quiet ones, the legacy of a Shanghai’s richest man, the historic theater district, a bustling food street, Art Deco apartments, a park with a past.

A slice of Old Shanghai, in the shadow of future Shanghai.

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WALK

Sunday September 6, 10am

Deep Dive: Route de Sièyes: Yongjia Lu

RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers

This charming, unassuming former French Concession street packs a century’s worth of history into its seven blocks, along with some of the finest historic architecture in the city.

Powerful Old Shanghai families built houses here, a bank housed its staff, and architects from France and China designed signature villas along this street—including what may be the last Art Deco house in Shanghai.

There’s the home of a famous painter and a forgotten singer, a patriotic musician and a world-famous wartime photojournalist, and much more, all along this pretty, tree-lined avenue.

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WALK

Sunday September 13, 10am

Hidden Lanes and Mysterious Mansions of the Former French Concession

RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers

A walk through our neighborhood—Tina’s running route, in fact—that takes you behind the plane trees and beyond the influencers to the tranquil neighborhoods and twisting lanes, and mysterious villas that surround the architectural landmarks, and thieir surprising histories. Quiet plane tree dappled streets, some of the prettiest in the city, lined with icons of Shanghai architecture and the fascinating tales they hold.

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WALK

Saturday September 19, 10am

Shanghai History Series: The Japanese Occupation (1937-1945)

RMB 200 members, 300 nonmembers

Japan’s occupation of Shanghai defined an era and would leave its mark well into the future. In the next episode of our Shanghai History Series, we look at Japanese Shanghai beyond the military: how was the day-to-day Japanese occupation experienced by Shanghai residents? By the Japanese who had lived here for decades? Along the way, we’ll find traces of the Japanese legacy of the occupation years in architecture and stories along the way.

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WALK

Sunday September 20, 9am

Chinese Temples at Mid-Autumn Festival

RMB 250 members, 350 nonmembers

Discover the charming temples in Shanghai’s Old Chinese City—the oldest part of Shanghai–on one of the most important traditional festivals on the Chinese calendar.

These gorgeous houses of worship have served Shanghai’s oldest communities for centuries, and on Mid-Autumn Festival, people light incense and give thanks for a bountiful harvest (mostly metaphorically, these days!). We’ll visit nunneries, Taoist and Buddhist temples, and light some incense ourselves. Along the way, we’ll see the historic, rapidly disappearing neighborhoods these temples serve, and see how the oldest part of Shanghai is being transformed for a new era.

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BOOK CLUB

Sunday September 20, 4pm

September Book Club: Death in Shanghai by MJ Lee ~ author Martin Lee will join us via Zoom

RMB 100 members, 200 nonmembers

Shanghai, 1928. The body of a blonde is washed up on the Beach of Dead Babies, in the heart of the smog-filled city. Seemingly a suicide, a closer inspection reveals a darker motive: the corpse has been weighed down, it’s lower half mutilated…and the Chinese character for ‘justice’ carved into the chest.

The moment Inspector Danilov lays eyes on the dismembered body, he realises that he has an exceptional case on his hands. And when the first body is followed by another, and another, each displaying a new, bloody message, he has no option but face the truth. He is dealing with the worst kind of criminal; someone determined, twisted…and vengeful.

The Inspector Danilov series is one of our absolute favorites: for the characters, the plot, the history, and the authentic sense of place.

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