‘China’s Alamo’ Restored

  In late October 1937, when the battle of Shanghai was pretty much decided, and the Chinese were preparing to withdraw west, Chiang Kai-shek and his commanders decided for a … Continue Reading →

The Takeover of Shanghai, 1945

This article is part of a large online project — End of Empire — launched by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS). The idea is simple: To describe day … Continue Reading →

A Boy in Wartime Shanghai, Part 2

George Kulstad, born in Shanghai in 1935, had a tumultuous childhood. His father, a Norwegian sea captain, was held captive by the Japanese, and George and his mother had to make do as best they could during … Continue Reading →

A Boy in Wartime Shanghai, Part 1

George Kulstad, born in Shanghai in 1935, had a tumultuous childhood. His father, a Norwegian sea captain, was held captive by the Japanese, and George and his mother had to make do as best they could during … Continue Reading →

Surrender in Nanking

This article is part of a large online project — End of Empire — launched by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS). The idea is simple: To describe day … Continue Reading →

The US Firebombing of Wuhan, Part 2

One week before Christmas in 1944, nearly 200 American planes raided the Chinese city of Wuhan, dropping 500 tons of incendiary bombs. Thousands of Chinese lives were lost in this … Continue Reading →

The US Firebombing of Wuhan, Part 1

 It may have cost 40,000 lives, but the US firebombing of the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 1944 is one of the least known chapters of World War … Continue Reading →

Manchukuo Visas, Part 2

Recently we carried an article on Manchukuo visas by Neil Kaplan, reproduced with his kind permission from his website Our Passports. As a follow-up, we bring a number of examples … Continue Reading →

Manchukuo Visas

This article by Neil Kaplan about visas from Manchukuo was first published on his website Our Passports. It is reproduced here with his kind permission.  September 18th 1931 was a crucial date in the … Continue Reading →

Living Heroes, Part 5

This is the fifth in a series of articles introducing Chinese veterans of the Second Sino-Japanese War, some of whom are now about 100 years old. The fact that a broader … Continue Reading →