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| In the
Works |
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SHANGHAILANDERS
Foreigners in Shanghai -
Where they Lived, Worked and Played. It's the
third in our "Shanghai Walks" series. Watch for it! |
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LECTURES AND TOURS
SCENE-SETTER
LECTURES
A HUNDRED YEARS IN FIFTY MINUTES – SHANGHAI’S EXPAT HISTORY
 Tess'
talk, as the title implies, is a zip
through the history of the Western presence in Shanghai, from 1842
to 1949. Early on Shanghai became a city of Western emigrants, and
Ms. Johnston gives a short anecdotal history of each wave of
foreigners who came to Shanghai, explains their contributions to
the growth of the city, and what they left behind for posterity.
Reviewers say: “She is lively, engaging, often irreverent, and
leaves her audience gasping for breath after her lively romp
through a century of Shanghai's colorful history.” (This can be
followed by a walking and/or riding tour of several varied
locations. Contact Tess by e-mail
here or
here).
A HUNDRED YEARS IN FIFTY MINUTES - SHANGHAI’S JEWISH HISTORY
 It
also follows Shanghai’s Western emigrants in
chronological
order, but focuses on the Jewish presence. Her narrative starts
with the Sephardic businessmen of the 19th century, moves through
the 1933-1941 inflow into Shanghai of Jewish refugees from Nazi
Europe, and ends in 1950 when most of the Jewish refugees had
again traveled on to other countries. Her talk is lively,
anecdotal, and includes extensive information on the 1943-45
Japanese-created “Designated Area for Stateless Refugees” – better
known as the Jewish Ghetto.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN A "NEW" SHANGHAI
Tess
tells what it was like to live in a city that had just emerged
from a chaotic decade: an overcrowded and drab cityscape of no
cars, no luxuries, of rationing and restraint, but one with its
old Western architecture intact -- and absolutely wonderful.
Expanded by readings from her recent memoir, PERMANENTLY TEMPORARY
- From Berlin to Shanghai in Half a Century, Tess regales her
listeners with tales of "baseball-bat" chickens and
Snickers-eating rats, and other stories, both funny and sad, from
her Shanghai sojourn from 1981 to the present.
 FOR ART DECO FANS
Tess also has a Powerpoint presentation, preceded by a brief
introductory lecture on Shanghai’s expat history, entitled
SHANGHAI ART DECO. These are images from Tess's and Deke’s latest
joint book
by the same title, and the presentation received rave reviews at
the World Congress of Art Deco in Melbourne two years ago (and
subsequently at Art Deco Societies in Seattle, Chicago and New
York City).
TESS’S TOURS
Tess currently offers
four architectural tours, three in Frenchtown plus a Chinese one:
The Bund, Frenchtown's Lanes + VIPs, South Frenchtown:
Gentrifying, Frenchtown's Art Deco Apartments, and
Slice of Life. All tours start with her
“scene-setter” lecture, at her home, at a venue selected by the
clients, or (for a small extra fee) at the Old China Hand Reading
Room, a charming coffee/teahouse in the heart of Frenchtown.
Walking tours are limited to ten persons, except for Slice
of Life, which is limited to 2-4 persons. Riding tours
are limited only by the capacity of the vehicle (to be provided by
the client).
Two of these are new tours. The first,
South Frenchtown: Gentrifying, covers the
less-visited portions of the old French Concession. On the walk
down Sinan Lu we pass elegant enclaves that are slowly emerging in
a lovely time-warp of stately villas that have somehow survived.
The walk ends at the southern border of the Concession in the
exciting new/old Taikang Lu complex of shops, galleries and
eateries.
The publication of Shanghai Art Deco led to the
formulation of the second new tour. This one covers the
Art Deco apartments that grace the tree-lined boulevards
at the west end of Frenchtown. This can supplements the
exploration of the lanes and the Song Family enclave
of the standard Frenchtown tour.
Finally, Slice of
Life is for those who want to see the “real” (Chinese)
Shanghai. It starts with travel on a public bus to the lesser
known and less touristy areas of Old Town. There is a pause for
streetside dumplings before or after strolling down back streets
to the Temple of the City God, Bridge of Nine Turnings and Willow
Pattern Tea House. The old bazaar areas (both tourist and local)
offer a possible pause for shopping, at the clients’ request. The
tour ends on a major road where Tess puts the clients into a cab
to return to their hotel. |
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