Author of Midnight in Peking, City of Devils, Murders of Old China, Peking Noir, The Defectors, Her Lotus Year. The Last Emperor of China is out now. Return to the City of Darkness - Kowloon Walled City now on BBCSounds. Agent - Aitken-Alexanderhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mx3cpu5xvs2kThe Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City (Elliot & Thompson) has arrived in Australia!! Spotted in the wild here at Gleebooks in Sydney….04 Oct 2026 21:08 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mx3cpu5xvs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwzj4mxpw22fA Zoom for anyone who might be interested - October 12 UK time…04 Oct 2026 03:57 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwzj4mxpw22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwzgzwfmyk25Behind Mayfair’s Grand Facades: A Walking Tour of the Hidden Lanes "Such a lovely meandering tour that takes you into some beautiful mews" "We spent five days in Mayfair so far and who knew these places even existed. Thanks for sharing your knowledge & great stories." https://voicemap.me/tour/london/behind-mayfair-s-grand-facades-a-walking-tour-of-the-hidden-lanes04 Oct 2026 03:20 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwzgzwfmyk25https://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwzg2ehidc2aWWII American Air Force silk cloth Asia Escape Maps: - Vladivostok, first edition, 1944 - Keijo (Seoul), second edition, 1943 - French Indochina & Central China, second edition, 194304 Oct 2026 03:02 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwzg2ehidc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwyj47uuxc2oAnna May Wong: An Intimate Portrait - Shirley Jennifer Lim brings us a story of tenacity and determination in this lush biography, sure to become the essential account of Anna May Wong's life and legacy. Published by Abrams.03 Oct 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwyj47uuxc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwxlxwsbr22eLoving @dauntbooks.bsky.social Marylebone03 Oct 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwxlxwsbr22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwxgaz7mgc2dA 1960 Penguin Special edition of Kuo Ping-chia's (1908-2004) China: New Age and New Outlook (originally published 1956). You can read Kuo's interesting bio, below…03 Oct 2026 08:01 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwxgaz7mgc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwx35iaqpc2sA piece on writing The Last Emperor of China for Aspects of History…. https://aspectsofhistory.com/recovering-the-last-emperor-and-empress-of-china/03 Oct 2026 04:42 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwx35iaqpc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwvjtl6als22October 2 2026 - ChinaRhyming - Ballard’s Shanghai, the Hongkou Ghetto, 4 Last Emperor locations in Beijing and some events this month.... https://paulfrench.substack.com/p/october-2-2026-chinarhyming-ballards?r=4ire&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true02 Oct 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwvjtl6als22https://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwv2b635ls23Frederik Logervall’s Embers of War is a detailed study of the end of French colonialism in Indochina and the ensuing liberation struggles that to the mire the United States eventually found itself in losing a war to the Vietcong.02 Oct 2026 09:21 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwv2b635ls23https://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwuzi6j4o22nLovely to visit the beautiful John Sandoe bookshop in Chelsea and thanks to them for being my bookseller at the Chelsea History Festival…..02 Oct 2026 09:07 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwuzi6j4o22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwtcwxwxvk2gDragon dance, Hong Kong, Coronation Day of George VI, May 12 193701 Oct 2026 16:51 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwtcwxwxvk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mws6rn24nc2jA piece for That’s mags in China - 4 Last Emperor of China Locations to Visit in Beijing (that aren’t the Forbidden City, which is a bit obvious….) - Zhangwang Hutong; Mao’er Hutong; Dengshikou and; Prince Chun’s Mansion…. https://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/post/41023/4-last-emperor-of-china-locations-to-visit-in-beijing01 Oct 2026 06:04 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mws6rn24nc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwpmai6urs2eLate 19th century Chinese silver card case hallmarked for WingNam, Hong Kong, with pierced and repoussé decoration of a dragon amongst clouds.30 Sep 2026 05:27 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwpmai6urs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwosgntfxk2qMany thanks Foyles, Charing Cross Road….appreciated29 Sep 2026 21:45 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwosgntfxk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwnddufybc2nHey Singapore - The Last Emperor of China has arrived! Copies now available at lovely Kinokuniya and indie stores all over….29 Sep 2026 07:42 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwnddufybc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwncuwxh6k2oSporadic rain all this week in London / but my Voicemap GPS walking tour of Somerset House gives you plenty of opportunities - from the Courtauld and other galleries to cafes and excellent restaurants such as Poon’s…. Perhaps the perfect autumn tour… https://voicemap.me/tour/london/somerset-house-audio-guide-georgian-powerhouse-to-modern-arts-hub29 Sep 2026 07:34 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwncuwxh6k2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwlo56ryxs2sSweet haul at The Bookshop, Wigtown, Scotland’s book town, of old Ann Bridge orange Penguins and Kuo Ping/cha’s early paean to communist China, why the Kuomintang fell and how the Communist Party consolidated its power.28 Sep 2026 15:50 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwlo56ryxs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwkqhen7ls25Loving Waterstones on High Holborn….28 Sep 2026 06:59 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwkqhen7ls25https://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwibw2zen22wI never don’t include at least a couple of pubs on one of my Voicemap GPS walking tours! For my walk Writers, Artists and Ne’er-do-wells: A Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia Walk it’s the Newman Arms at 23 Rathbone Street, established in 1730. https://voicemap.me/tour/london/writers-artists-and-ne-er-do-wells-a-bloomsbury-and-fitzrovia-walk27 Sep 2026 07:33 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwibw2zen22whttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwhb6opw4c27Reginald Johnston was a keen amateur photographer all his life - a passion he passed along to Puyi and Wanrong in the Forbidden City. So naturally after he bought the Scottish island of Eilean Righ he photographed it… (The Stewart Lockhart Photographic Archive, George Watson’s College, Edinburgh)26 Sep 2026 21:47 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwhb6opw4c27https://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwgq7liut22oFormer British diplomat in China, tutor to Puyi, professor of Chinese at SOAS Reginald Johnston’s private Scottish island Eilean Righ off the Argyle coast. The story of his island is here - https://paulfrench.substack.com/p/september-26-2026-chinarhyming-got?r=4ire&utm_medium=ios26 Sep 2026 16:44 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwgq7liut22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwfu55s4ps2dGot over £6.5mn spare? You could buy Reginald Johnston’s Scottish Island. In the 30s Johnston, former British diplomat and tutor to the last emperor Puyi, bought himself a Scottish Island... Now you can buy it too...it was the ultimate expat return home!! https://paulfrench.substack.com/p/september-26-2026-chinarhyming-got?r=4ire&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true26 Sep 2026 08:21 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwfu55s4ps2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwepyeks5c2vA favourite building of mine in Shanghai’s ild French Concession, the Blackstone Apartments on Rue Lafayette (Fuxing Zhong Lu), built 1924. The imported English stone gives it a unique darker & more gothic appearance. There was originally a pool (as the ad says), which is sadly long gone.25 Sep 2026 21:34 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwepyeks5c2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwcwrbyr522jThis is news i can use https://thebay.mo/eat-drink/portuguese-style-egg-tarts-hong-kong-macao-bloomberg-ranking-bakehouse-lord-stows/25 Sep 2026 04:30 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwcwrbyr522jhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwcuy4lrmc2uMy thanks to a token collecting friend who came across this Jack Riley (Edward Thomas riley - ETR) issued slot machine 10cents token for Farren’s nightclub. Of course “Lucky Jack”, the “Slots King of Shanghai” is a major character in my book of old Shanghai gangster life, City of Devils….25 Sep 2026 03:58 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwcuy4lrmc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwcd46d2bc2gMy event in The Last Emperor of China next Thursday (Oct 1) at the Chelsea History Festival sold out quite quickly, but they’ve jiggled the room around and a few more tickets are now available…. https://chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/events/last-emperor-china-chelsea-history-festival24 Sep 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwcd46d2bc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwbayvpsxc2nPodcast: Advertising in Shanghai, 1905-1949, with Cécile Armand - in French Organized by the Société d'Histoire des Français de Chine Cécile Armand, associate professor of history at the Institute of East Asia, Lyon. Watch the audio recording of the interview: https://wiki.histoire-chine.fr/index.php/La_publicit%C3%A9_%C3%A0_Shanghai,_1905-1949,_avec_C%C3%A9cile_Armand24 Sep 2026 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwbayvpsxc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/chinarhyming.bsky.social/post/3mwavssfahk2w 24/9/26 - ChinaRhyming - Just a heads up on The Last Emperor of China making stops in Scotland at the Wigtown Festival & Chelsea for their History Festival. + an FT review, a UK Kindle deal, the RAS China Journal in hard copy & the latest from ChinaRhyming… https://paulfrench.substack.com/p/september-24-2026-chinarhyming-wigtown?r=4ire&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true24 Sep 2026 09:08 +0000at://did:plc:lvguwpsibget5lrfifkh4c7t/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwavssfahk2w