Books
Pulitzer Prize winning Hong Kong photojournalist enjoyed an advantage in China as a Chinese person with local insight but the freedom of a foreign correspondent. He captured the humour of daily life under communism and the trauma of big events.
In The Great Successor, Anna Fifield digs deep into the dictator’s early life, speaking with former classmates and others who knew the reclusive leader when he struggled with foreign languages and social interaction.
American architect Austin Tang who came to the city in 2008, says lingering for a few seconds can help to register reality in motion
Despite more than 100 books about him, Soviet secret agent Richard Sorge has remained an enigma. In new biography An Impeccable Spy, Owen Matthew sheds fresh light on a dedicated Bolshevik who loved wine, women and song.
In his book, Shanghai Free Taxi, NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt takes to the streets in a makeshift cab to get a taste of what people think of their homeland, and while it might be a novel approach, it motors down a familiar road.