Deke Erh began his career in photography in the early 1980s as one of China’s first freelance cameramen; his specialty is China’s architectural legacy. Since then, his publishing company, the Old China Hand Press, has published more than 10 books, most of which focus of Western architecture, including The Heart of the French Concession.
Divided into four parts – villas, apartment buildings, lane houses and public buildings – this volume covers the period from the early 1920s to the Japanese occupation. The French, whose influence on the city’s architecture, urban development and lifestyle is second to none, dominate the book. Naturally, the former French concession takes pride of place; in its heyday it was the most modern, and agreeable place to live in Shanghai. Witness the numerous politicians, diplomats, scholars and artists who commissioned homes in the area.
That said, this book is more than a historical exercise; the author presents a valid pictorial argument for the preservation of Shanghai’s invaluable, and endangered, architectural heritage.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Book courtesy Old China Hand Press
July 2005 issue