Shanghai is a funny place. It can mean one thing for one person, and something entirely different for another – which may explain why so many people have written and published books about their personal experiences here. Shanghai’s varied, and at times traumatic past has shaped countless generations, and there are many books out there that testify to that. But the city’s relatively recent emergence as one of the hottest cosmopolitan cities in the world is also shaping its citizens, and a new class of memoirs are being published to reflect that. Since it’s pretty much impossible to read every single one out there, here’s a list (in no specific order) of the ten best memoirs written about this amazing city. If you think you know Shanghai, think again.

1) Chasing Hepburn: A Memoir of Shanghai, Hollywood, and a Chinese Family's Fight for Freedom by Gus Lee
Gus Lee’s gripping story of his family life in Shanghai during the Chinese Civil War really begins with his parents. From his mother’s aborted foot-binding ceremony to his father’s move to California and subsequent affairs with Hollywood actresses, Lee uses memory, family stories, and personal letters to piece together his family history in fascinating detail. Don’t expect the typical Chinese war story; this is a unique take on Shanghai in the early 20th century.

2) Shanghai Tango: A Memoir by Xing Jin
Chances are you’ve heard of Xing Jin. An army colonel, and one of the most popular male ballet dancers in the country, Jin became the first Chinese citizen to undergo a sex change operation and come back to China to tell about it. From Jin’s first realization that sex change operations even existed (during a trip to New York) to Jin’s triumphant return as Shanghai Ballet’s (female) prima ballerina, this book will awe and inspire you.

3) Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai by Sigmund Tobias
Tobias, a Jew driven from Germany in 1938, was only six years old when he and his family landed in Shanghai. Along with 17,000 other refugees, they were encamped in the Japanese-occupied city for nine years. Tobias does an exceptional job at explaining what their day-to-day life was like, including continuing his religious training, without becoming tedious. This is a remarkable tale of perseverance.

4) Monkey House Blues: A Shanghai Prison Memoir by Dominic Stevenson
If you’ve ever wondered what a Chinese prison was like, check out Stevenson’s account of his two and a half year stint in Shanghai Municipal Prison. Convicted of smuggling drugs from Shanghai to Japan in 1993, Stevenson is only one of five Westerners in this rowdy jail (out of 5,000 Chinese prisoners). Terrifying and amusing at the same time, Stevenson spends a lot of time reminiscing about his past – but it’s his jailhouse experiences that will leave you wanting more.

5) Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
No list of Shanghai memoirs would be complete without Cheng’s bestseller. The widow of a wealthy man, she was accused of espionage and imprisoned by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Cheng’s horrific experiences, including six years of solitary confinement and her daughter’s murder, make for a heartbreaking story that everyone needs to hear.

6) Awaken: The Memoirs of a Chinese Historian by Gu Chang-Sheng
A dedicated member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Chang-Sheng was assigned to be the historian of Christianity during the Cultural Revolution. As a result of his independence, he suffered “re-education” classes, beatings and imprisonment. His role as a Christian historian in a communist country gives him a unique perspective, one that both educates and amazes.

7) Spirit Bridges by Li Mo
While Mo grew up in China during the start of the Cultural Revolution, most of this book recounts her rapid-fire journey around the globe. After being smuggled out of China by her mother, one of China’s first women journalists, Mo finds herself in Taiwan, then alone in Spain taking care of her siblings, and finally in New York. The journey is breathtaking and confusing while beautifully portraying Mo’s personal growth.

8) Stateless in Shanghai by Liliane Willens
Shanghai-born Willens and her Russian parents were declared “stateless” just before the Japanese occupation of the city, making it extremely difficult for them to flee war-torn Shanghai. Willens’ account of her peaceful childhood and tumultuous adolescence sheds new light on the birth of a new China.

9) Shanghai Remembrance by Frank T. Leo
I recommend this memoir only as a way to glimpse how the other half lives (or at least lived). Leo waxes nostalgic about his ridiculously wealthy upbringing in Shanghai, going into great detail about his luxurious digs and expensive clothes. This is not a book to read if you’re looking for insight into China’s culture or history. It is, however, an interesting look at over-the-top wealth in a country rife with poverty.

10) Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton: An Autobiography by J.G. Ballard
Arguably one of the most famous Shanghai-born writers, J.G. Ballard (author of Empire of the Sun), tells of his idyllic Shanghai childhood before being thrown into a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. His experiences at Lunghua Camp shape Ballard’s life for years to come. This is an insightful look at the birth of a beloved British author.

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