Culture & History

Understanding the city beyond the surface

Shanghai's culture is shaped by centuries of trade, migration, and rapid change. To understand the city you see today, it helps to know how it became what it is. The Shanghai treaty port era — when foreign powers carved out semi-autonomous zones within the city — laid the foundations for the neighborhoods, architecture, and contradictions that still define Shanghai. Our guide to the foreign concessions unpacks this period and explains why it still matters when walking through the French Concession today.

The twenties era brought Shanghai to its glamorous peak — jazz, cinema, fashion, and a literary scene that rivalled Paris. That last point is explored in depth in our guide to Shanghai's literary revolution, tracing the writers and ideas that made the city a creative center of early twentieth-century China.

Why this context matters

Rather than academic deep dives, these articles are readable, practical, and directly relevant to what you see on the streets today. History here is a lens, not a lecture.