Shanghai Gone is an extraordinary book that documents the contemporary history of housing demolition and relocation in Shanghai. The book is very readable. Qin Shao deliberately chooses to “make the book accessible to anyone who is interested in the vicissitudes of contemporary China” and thus “the book is meant for both the scholarly community and the public” (p. xvi). As a historian, Qin Shao is extremely sensitive to historical details and pays particular attention to the oral history of the everyday experiences of those residents who suffered from housing demolition. She turns these narratives into an account of conflict and resistance in the histories of urban development.

The book contains five cases: a kindergarten teacher who turned into a diehard petitioner; families who struggled for and lost their properties in Xintiandi; residents who confronted the government in the East Eight Lots; the descendants of squatters who became “nail households”; and the demolition of Lincoln Lane, which highlights the hypocrisy of some of the renowned Chinese preservationists. The book contains very rare and detailed materials and reveals the enormous suffering caused by “domicide” – the eradication of homes against the will of their dwellers – in the process of rapid urbanization and housing development. The book devotes its narrative to concrete events and the words of ordinary people, and preserves memories that would otherwise disappear quickly along with the old homes.

It is intriguing that most of the “ordinary people” interviewed in this book wanted to be named (except Mr C. in the case of East Eight Lots); perhaps they saw this as another way to publicize their anger, for they constantly filed their petitions. However, academic publication is far from immediate – by the time these stories are read, a decade has passed since the events. While the book might now be read as historical, at the time of research the author was a participant and witness. For example, Shao was on site and took a picture (featured in the book) of Mr C. protesting at the balcony of his apartment as it was demolished. Interestingly things did not end too badly for Mr C.: the district government bought him a three-million-yuan flat near the original site, while he was allowed to keep his compensated 111-square-metre apartment in Pudong, now his “country” home. Another resident, who published a popular novel about her experience in Hong Kong, received 2.6 million yuan in compensation three years after demolition, ten times more than she was originally offered. That is not to diminish their suffering during demolition and protest. But considering that there are still millions of rural migrants living in the city under extremely impoverished housing conditions, examples like these make the reader wonder whether their defence should be justified by the property rights (through which they should be duly compensated and have the right to refuse a deal) rather than the wider claim of rights to the city in which their individual right is situated (through which ordinary citizens should have a greater influence over how their city develops). For example, residents may not want a city to be redeveloped and collectively decide that preservation should be a priority. In the case of the East Eight Lots, for example, authorities abandoned the development and created a park. Here, the traumas suffered by individuals who were victims of domicide do not scale up to form a scenario of a more just city.

The book gives some astonishing historical details. For example, in the case of the demolition of Mr Lincoln's Lane, Qin Shao examined the role of experts, including Professor Ruan Yisan, a renowned preservationist at Tongji University. Those familiar with the Chinese planning community may feel uneasy to read about Ruan's involvement with an expert panel convened by the authorities, where he confirmed that the lane was lined with ordinary alleyway houses of no historical value. The book presents a copy of evaluation forms as evidence, suggesting that “[Ruan] contradicts his earlier position by recommending against the preservation of the lane” (p. 264). Qin Shao explains, “‘Preservation God’ Ruan Yisan was himself also a developer, driven by the same pursuit of profit” (p. 265). Shao's ethical criticism is extremely sharp: “‘public intellectuals’ like Ruan Yisan were not exactly public-minded” (p. 265). The natural question for readers concerns the historical value of the houses on Mr Lincoln's Lane. Since it has been a controversial issue between experts and residents, it would be interesting to know more about architectural development and heritage preservation in the city and on this site in particular. However, it lies outside the scope of this book, which is centred on the residents' perspectives and which focuses discussion on their experiences. A more macroscopic political economy analysis would be illuminating, as Shao alludes that “redevelopment is driven by profit – to develop projects into a money-making machine, drawing in tourists and thus increasing local revenue” (p. 267). It would also be desirable to conduct an interview with Ruan Yisan, his colleagues or students, to reveal his side of the story.

The narrative of this book is full of surprises – even for those who believe they are “familiar” with Chinese cities. During my fieldwork in Shanghai, I often stayed at a hotel which was built upon or near the site of Lincoln Lane. I had not known this was a place of domicide until I noted the familiar address. Shanghai Gone is an extremely fascinating book for those who are interested in Chinese cities as well as the general public interested in urban histories and social well-being.