One of those books you cant put down, Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, is a very insightful and at times educational read about the phenomenon in Shanghai in the 1930’s.  Set against the backdrop of ‘Paris of the East’ as the Japanese invaded and took control of the region in the 1930’s.  The life of the Shanghainese was likened to those of Paris at the time.  Glamour, style, design and cuisine were key elements to the life in the City at the time.  Lisa See in Shanghai Girls paints the canvas of the beautiful daughters of a successful merchant, whose greatest worry is where to be on a weekend night and what to wear.  These girls were a phenomenon at the time, and LeRoy Shields Orchestra created an international hit in 1930 called ‘Sing Song Girls’ based upon these beauties and the international sensation it created in Shanghai at the time.
The Vintage Shanghai photos on this YouTube Video are terrific!

But as the City falls, and as the Second World War progresses,  the girls are married off to American Chinese and are eventually shipped to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where many immigrants landed at the time.  Their families are killed off and they are alone.  Alone with no money in a time when women, particularly Chinese women were only property. Ultimately ending up in Chinatown in Los Angeles at the time of the growth of the film industry in the 1940’s, the ancient Chinese protocol and culture clash with the reality of the times and the two great beauties of Shanghai, whose world is blown up and they must make their way as working class girls.

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