Looking for Shanghai, Anyi Wang, Yvonne André

The Secret Taste of Shanghai. The author who so masterfully and opulently celebrated Shanghai in her novel "The Song of Everlasting Regret" embarks here on a quest for its history, which, she says, holds something secret for her, as her impressions of Shanghai, her city, intertwine with the wild grasses of her personal life. She compares Shanghai and Beijing, trying to define the taste of the two cities, their language, their characters, their way of experiencing the wind, the sun, and the cycle of seasons, their ideals, and their imprint on history. Finally, she recounts the stories of chance and fortune that forged the legend and prosperity of what was still, not so long ago in the grand scheme of Chinese history, a simple fishing village.