Shanghainese (Shanghai dialect) is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai, and the surrounding region. It is classified as a Sino-Tibetan language. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese dialects such as Standard Mandarin, or even other sub-branches of the Wu language group.
 
Shanghainese is the [...]

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Three Kingdoms in ancient China is one of the most fascinating historic period with lots of compelling tales of political intrigue, plot twists, larger-than-life characters, fantastical, famous battles, mind-boggling tactics and the novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, fleshed out the historical structure further with fascinating myths and legendary details. This part of history has [...]

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Shanghai’s nightlife is legendary. The city has innumerable bars and nightclubs in an unlimited variety of themes. There are bars to cater to every type of person. It is said that any visitor to Shanghai can find their perfect bar. Shanghai has a long history of jazz clubs, which have been popular since the 1930’s. [...]

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Cruising down Huangpu River, Shanghai’s mother river, is a wonderful experience. The cruise begins at the Bund, which is known as a “museum of architecture” and slowly cruises toward the Nanpu Bridge. At the bridge, the ship makes a u-turn and passes under the Yangpu Bridge. The ship then cruises to the Wusong Kou before [...]

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Xin Tian Di: A newly built scenic spot, Xin Tian Di is large complex built with a European feel. During the day thousands of sightseers can be seen visiting Xin Tian Di taking photos. In the evening, the area has a romantic European flavor. The Cafes are extremely popular with locals and visitors. The restaurants [...]

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The local opera of Shanghai originated from Shange, a type of popular folk song from the Jiangnan area, the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. With its sweet music, and the gentle Shanghai dialect, the Shange style of singing is extremely popular with people in the Shanghai and Zhejiang Province areas. [...]

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Xia Yan (1900-1995) is a famous Chinese playwright and screenwriter A native of Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, he has another name of Shen Naixi alias Duanxuan or Duanxian. He had pursued his studies in Japan. In the 193Os, he founded Shanghai Art Drama Society and was one of the leaders of the League of Chinese Left-Wing [...]

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If modern Chinese drama has come of age in the 1930s, then Cao Yu and his dramatic trilogy of Thunderstorm Sunrise and The Wilderness are a hallmark of this maturity. Rich in implications and excellent in techniques, these dramatic works are regarded as the classics of modern Chinese drama.
Cao Yu (1910-1996) is a renowned modern [...]

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In the over ten years since the inception of May the Fourth Movement, modern Chinese drama was basically limited to the intellectual circle, especially the young intellectuals. Under the special historical circumstances of the 1930s, Chinese drama started a process of socialization and popularization with the aim of serving the War of Resistance Against Japan.

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If Tian Han created for the Chinese audience a tragedy distinct from the traditional Chinese one, then Ding Xilin broke through the stereotypes of traditional comedy in China and presented the Chinese people with an English-styled comedy based on linguistic skills and conflicts of stage activities. His comic works mirrored the achievements made in dramatic [...]

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