The Shanghai History Walks

The history of the city, in nine walks

In 2026, Historic Shanghai brings you a new series of walks focusing on a different period of history each month, in chronological order. Our goal: to help you make sense of Shanghai’s fascinating, yet wildly complicated history. Come to one, come to them all, and explore the legacies and landscapes of the past that have created our present. 

JANUARY

EARLY SHANGHAI: The Foreigners Arrive (1840s-1880s)

FEBRUARY

VICTORIAN SHANGHAI: Settling In, Seeds of Revolution (1880s-1910)

MARCH

REVOLUTION IN THE AIR (1911-1921)

APRIL

NANXUN: Building Wealth, Building Revolution (1900-1930)

A weekend field trip to Nanxun to explore the spread of Shanghai’s influence.

MAY

THE ROARING TWENTIES, GANGSTERS AND WARLORDS (1920s)

JUNE

THE NANKING DECADE (1927-37)

A weekend field trip to Nanjing

JULY

WORLD WAR II: The Japanese Occupation (1932-45)

OCTOBER

POSTWAR, CIVIL WAR (1945-49)

NOVEMBER

LIBERATION AND BEYOND (1950s-1980s)