I select some old photos here, all taken by me on various phones (Nokia ones I think) and cameras during a visit to Shanghai in 2008. This collection of photos is all about local cafes.

It is believed that the people in northern China usually prefer tea, while Shanghai, which always has great influence on the eastern part of China, is well known for more coffee. You can see the importance of cafes in Ang Lee’s award-winning movie Lust, Caution (2007).

In the old Shanghai, cafe used to be a symbol of social status. Maybe now still?

Shanghai has been never short of good cafes, including many run by expats who often view Shanghai as the “Paris in the Orient”. Those nice coffee shops sometimes make Shanghai suddenly feel more like a small town in Europe and they also become the sources of ideas and connections for many.

In this collection of old photos, unfortunately the Hanyuan Bookstore (which was also a cafe) was closed in 2018 for various reasons.

Hanyuan used to be late Hong Kong celebrity Leslie Cheung’s favourite. Leslie once said he loved to hide himself inside Hanyuan just for a whole afternoon of books and coffee when he had work in Shanghai.

For more photography by me: mrshangkong.com