The cover of Steffi’s book
Shanghai would not have been as much fun without the above book. If you are a German speaker, the best book to read before traveling to Shanghai is Steffi Schmitt’s “Shanghai Promenade – Spaziergaenge zwischen den Zeiten” (freely translated as: “walks between the times”). It gives you a fantastic head start into the fascinating world, past and present, of the “Paris of the East”.
I was so glad that I had mastered about 200 pages of it before descending on the city. My ignorance was much less than otherwise and I felt relieved somehow. I saw the town in an historic perspective which made it much more palatable. Because of the building boom of the last 20 years, it is easy to forget that this town is loaded with a very interesting past.
From page 385 onwards, Steffi describes 10 city walks. When I strolled along the Bund, all these historical facts came to mind and I felt like a real time traveler. Unfortunately, I had no time for any of them because my work schedule was just too tight. But it made me hungry for more, to visit the city again and spend some time to explore it’s beauties.
It’s easy to get this book. Just google the title and order it through Amazon or any other provider. The only thing I missed in the book is maps. I would love to have more maps in order to be able to locate events and places in general. But for the 10 proposed walks, no worries, there are maps guiding you through.
Posted by themanfrommoselriver 
The Man from Mosel River 