Remaking the Legend
No other city epitomises the dynamic growth of China more than Shanghai. Weaving anecdotes with analysis, Pamela Ytasko's lively narrative addresses key aspects of the city's rebirth. There is the building spree of the 1990s and how it turned into a massive glut; Shanghai's resurrection as a financial centre; the growing divide between rich and poor; the return of fortune-hunting foreign business; and the revival of Old Shanghai vices - nightlife, drugs and prostitution.
'New Shanghai' gives you a sense of the tumult that has rocked urban China in the 1990s. By painting pictures of Shanghai today, it provides a better understanding of the Shanghai and China of tomorrow. The book has an excellent wide-ranging coverage from finance to vice to the return of the foreigners. The author has also conducted interviews with Shanghainese across all levels of society.