Shanghai’s Little White House
They call it the “Little White House,” and it was one of the finest grand mansions of old Shanghai. Still is. Constructed by a company whose buildings would become icons, this gracious belle époque mansion on Fenyang Lu never housed Presidents, but for nearly half a century after it was built, it was the home of men ...
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Inside Hardoon’s Garden
Hardoon Garden, Aili Garden. Even today, the name conjures up mystery and legend. Mystery, because few photos survive of this exquisite Chinese-style residential garden that lay inside high vermilion gates. Legend, because it was the home of Shanghai’s richest man, Silas Hardoon: to paraphrase a contemporary source, a ...
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Cicadas: Shanghai’s Summer Song
"All the different kinds of cicada are now in full song .... most noticeable is the longdrawn song of the big black cicada, whose strident screech fills the air for periods of half a minute to a minute at a time, ceases for a while, and then starts again." Arthur de Carle Sowerby, Nature Notes, 1938 The Shanghai Summer ...
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The Shanghai Garden in Winter: Winter Sweet
China Journal, February 1929: “On the subject of shrubs and trees for the garden in winter, it might be well to say more about the winter sweet (Chimonanthus fragrans), a plant which has been in full bloom during the past month or so, and is noted for the fragrance of its odour. Everyone in China must be ...
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