Once Upon a Time in Shanghai

Snapshots of Shanghai's heyday as the Vegas of Asia.

BY KATIE CELLA | AUGUST 13, 2012

This photo shows people walking along the water in Jessfield Park, which was originally built as a private garden in 1914. The avenues surrounding Jessfield Park hosted some of Shanghai's most raucous gambling houses and decadent nightclubs, which advertised foreign bands and nude shows.

Virtual Cities Project/Institut d'Asie Orientale 

 

Katie Cella is an editorial researcher at Foreign Policy.