Thirty years ago, I opted to stay in Asia and travel extensively in China. Today I look back on thirty years of engagement with China, around half of that living here and building a career and family.

Last year I wrote a long piece excavating the top 25 bands and albums of my high school years. Now I want to go on an archeological expedition even deeper into the past, back to my junior high days (1981-83) to explore my favorite bands and albums from those formative times. To do so I have to dredge deep into my memories to recall which bands I treasured and put on the highest rotation during those years. Which albums, when listening to them 35 years later, can I still remember every song lyric, every lick, and every record scratch. Which albums, when even thinking about them now, conjure forth a cascade of dim and distant memories of “good times, bad times” with friends and family from my formative years. 

Part 2 of an exploratory walk around the People's Park/Square area to look at some of the old landmark hotels, amusement halls, and theaters from the 1920s-30s.

I’m in process of developing a new walking tour of Shanghai. After many years of covering the French Concession and the Bund, I’m moving onto new territory, namely the area around the People’s Square/Park, formerly the Recreation Ground of the International Settlement.