About
Whether in books, on TV, audio, or magazines and newspapers, I pretty much exclusively talk and write about China (primarily Shanghai) in the first half of the twentieth century. And this blog is the place I throw all the interesting gobbets of information, historical anecdotes, ephemera and recommended books that fall through the cracks somehow and never get used anywhere else. There’s also the occasional piece of shameless self-promotion –
Paul French
And do take a look at my instagram page at oldshanghaipaul where I post old photographs and advertising from China.
Since the 2012 publication of the bestselling
Midnight in Peking, Paul French has been linked to Beijing, or at least some historical iteration of it. Since then, he s followed up with
Badlands: Decadent Playground of Old Peking, and now starts 2021 with two new Northern Capital offerings:
Destination Peking, a look at the lives of 18 Beijingers of note from the first half of the 20th century, and
Peking Noir, a BBC Radio 3 docudrama, also available as a podcast. French talked to
the Beijinger about why the city s history still captivates him.
the Beijinger (TBJ): So for a guy who is not particularly in love with Beijing, it seems to keep drawing you back.