Once upon a time, I was in Shanghai, and I needed a birthday present for a friend. 

Shanghai is a captivating city; one I love to visit. I always enjoy my time there. It’s vibrantly alive with culture, history, and commerce. For many years it was called “The Paris of the East,” due to its cosmopolitanism, and its sophistication. I love it so much that my next novel, Like Clockwork, is based in this incredible city. On this particular day on this particular trip, I went to the shopping district around Nanjing Road. There are so many little shops and stalls mixed with western brands crowding the marketplace that you can easily lose your bearings if you’re not careful.

…I picked up a so-called “Rolex” that I thought my friend would love, and examined it while the shopkeeper promised to make me a good price.

“Is it real?” I asked, jokingly.

“If you cannot tell the difference,” she asked, “does it matter?”


Listen to learn more about

• Four Treasuries Project – an entire library of books, meant to gather a comprehensive record of Chinese history, philosophy, and literature. 
• The creation of the Beijing Opera, a complex art from that combines song, dance, acrobatics, mime, acting, elaborate makeup and costumes, telling stories of romance, war, heroism and villainy. 
• How the performance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Tokyo by Chinese students brought western theater styles to China.

  The full show notes can be found at https://www.mydarkpath.com/season1episode9

Read MF Thomas' novels

Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzy
Arcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisx
A Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPK
Seeing by Moonlight ...