AN AMERICAN IN CHINA: 1936-39 A Memoir

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Tales of Old China

A fascinating Web site on old China, mostly the era between 1840 to 1950. Focusing mainly on Shanghai but including other cities as well. A wealth of information and photographs.

Frank Capra: The Battle of China

See this extraordinary one-hour film, on the Internet Archive, to learn about China at war with Japan. Made in 1944 by the US government as part of the Oscar-winning "Why We Fight" series, it covers major events of the late 1930s and early 40s. In spite of its blunt propagandistic tone, it is an excellent introduction, especially to those who know nothing of this period. Frank Capra was the noted director of such film classics as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

 

The Rape of Nanking

Excerpts from “The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II,” by Iris Chang (Penguin Books, 1996).

See also the BBC site, Scarred by History: The Rape of Nanjing

War Memorial of the Nanjing Massacre

Extensive information on this horrific event.

The War of Resistance Against Japan

A China-based site providing much information on different aspects of the Sino-Japanese War in English.

Old China Hand Gazette

The 2004 issue of Old China Hand Gazette, published by Old China Hand Press, known widely for its excellent illustrated books by Tess Johnston and Deke Ehr on the architecture of Old Shanghai and other subjects of Old China.

The Second Sino-Japanese War

Extensive Wikipedia site with a great deal of detailed information and photographs.

The Battle of Shanghai, 1937

A documentation by a Swiss photographer of the devastation wrought in the city by both sides.

Allied Civilians in Japanese Internment Camps

Between 1941 and 1945, Japan held over 13,500 civilian men, women, and children as captives in China and Hong Kong. Each one has a story to tell. "Captives of Empire" is their story.

Royal Navy Gunboats in China

This site discusses the history of Royal Navy river gunboats operating on the
Yangtze River and in the Far East from 1897 to 1945. A wealth of rare and beautiful photographs that capture the gunboat era on the Yangzte. G.H. Thomas was a frequent guest on the British gunboats HMS Falcon and HMS Gannet in 1938.

USS Augusta

Extensive history of a heavy cruiser that figured prominently in East China in the 1930's and in World War II. Moored off the Bund in Shanghai from Aug. 1937 to Jan. 1938, the Augusta found itself with grandstand seats at an Asian war.

Gunboat Diplomacy in China

A photographic essay on gunboats in China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the various foreign powers that operated them.

The Fourth Marines in China,
1927-1941

From 1927 to 1941, a unit of the United States Marine Corps, the Fourth Marines, was assigned to Shanghai.

History of the Yangtze Patrol

A short "philatelic history" of the Yangzte Patrol by George Saqqal? OK, it's not really about stamps, but about the gunboats. Very detailed and full of interesting information.

On the Gunboat USS Oahu from Shanghai to Hankow

A two-week roundtrip made in 1940, a year before Pearl Harbor, and three years after the start of the Sino-Japanese War.

North China Marines

As Pearl Harbor was being attacked,  203 United States Marines in northern China were surrounded and captured by the Japanese.  They spent from that day until mid September of 1945 as prisoners of war.

France in China

A very rich site, all in French. It has a special page on the reconstruction of the French Navy building in Chungking, affectionately called the Bastille by foreigners and mentioned by G.H. Thomas in his chapter on Chungking. It also contains a section on Shameen, the foreign concession in Canton.

Sino-Japanese War Timeline, Part 1

An event by event account of the Sino-Japanese War, considered to be the start of the Pacific War. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this detailed site.

Sino-Japanese War Timeline, Part 2

Sino-Japanese War Timeline, Part 3

Books in English on Sino-Japanese War

A biliography from Harvard University

Bike China Adventures

This interesting Web travelog, with photographs, relates a modern-day bike trip from Tsingtao to Weihaiwei by an American lawyer — a trip G.H. Thomas made by foot and donkey caravan in the 1930's, as there were no roads at the time in that part of the Shantung Peninsula. There are numerous other itineraries as well for bike and China fans.

Chefoo School of the China Inland Mission

An account of a teacher at the Chefoo School during the Japanese occupation

China National Aviation Corps

A well-document site devoted to CNAC, a pioneering American aviation company founded in 1929 in a partnership with the Chinese government.

China Sites

ChinaSite.com is one of the most popular directories and indexes for China/Chinese related resources on the Internet. The site, which includes over 8,000 links, was first created in 1994 and is the China-themed site with the longest history. Click on “Who Link to Us” to find important China-related educational sites around the world.


ChinaSite.com, you can find everthing regarding China here ChinaSite.com

china tour

 

An online tour operator offering private and small group tours.

china travel

 

An online tour operator in China offering everything from luxurious group packages to tailor-made private tours.

Sina.com

 

A major portal in English and Chinese for news from China and Taiwan

Old Peking

Outstanding collection of old Peking photographs from around 1900. (Also
in Japanese version)

Kiautschou mit der stadt Tsingtau

Fascinating site with pictures, all in German, on the German colony established in Shantung in 1897.

 

Tsingtau 1897-1914

Ein Kapitel deutscher kolonialgeschichte in China. Eine Ausstellung des Deutschen Historischen Museum. An exhaustive site devoted to a Berlin exhibition on Tsingtao. In German, English and Chinese.

青岛新闻网        QingDaoNews.com
News Web site from Qingdao. in Chinese.

 

Tianjin Exhibition at Cornell

Interesting site on "600 years of urban planning in and around Tianjin."

The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd.

History of the company

Old Buildings of Hong Kong and Shanghai by Palmer & Turner

From the first two buildings of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Hong Kong, to the Cathay Hotel in Shanghai, the achievments of a distinguished architectural firm. In their Flash site, click on "By Year" in menu for buildings of 1930s.

Shanghai Photographs/French Collection, Lyons

One of the most accurate representations of 1930's Shanghai in a comprehensive collection of original photographs and maps, many dealing with the French Concesssion and French interests in the area. Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Lyon. Note: Site may take some time to download.

 

La Concessione Italiana in Cina

An extremely interesting site called Trento in Cina on the Italian presence in China in the 1930's. Tientsin e dintorni, ieri e oggi.

Storia della colonia italiana in Cina

History of the Italian colony in China.

Howard French — A Glimpse of the World

Articles on contemporary China by a senior writer for The New York Times

Railway History of China until 1935

This British site is an overview of the many lines that crisscrossed China at the turn of the 20th century, mostly built by the foreign powers. A must for rail history buffs.

Sino-Japanese War 1894-95 & Russo-Japanese War 1904-5
(in Japanese Woodblock prints)

An extraordinary if somewhat graphic and idealized view of those wars in spectacular prints by Japanese artists of the period. The images on that site can be enlarged by clicking on them.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology but the prints are from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

 

 

China-Japan: Rival Giants

An informative site from the BBC on current relations, not always smooth, between
the two Asian countries.

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