This sad little picture, taken by Paul French at China Rhyming, depicts what's left of British writer J.G. Ballard's childhood home now that it's been thoroughly gutted. Located on Panyu Lu and Xinhua Lu, the expat villa-turned-restaurant turned into a construction mess early last month. more ›

A marine merchant Shen, from Fujian, had this residence built in 1860. To pay tribute to the origins of his fortune, Shen had his house face not to the south, but the east, toward the sea. The building housed the whole Shen family with domestics and had enough space to store goods. There was a spacious garden around the house, but it did not survive. more ›

With so much of Shanghai's historical architecture disappearing day by day, you might think that most Shanghailanders, ourselves included, have become desensitized to the frequent reports of demolition and destruction. Looks like that isn't true, as we are still heartbroken over Malcolm Moore's recent story on the latest casualty of Shanghai's relentless urban development, British author J.G. Ballard's childhood home. more ›