Shanghai Story is a collection of windows, patterns and memories.
Shanghai is a city layered with history, and nowhere is that more visible than in the French Concession, where Art Deco buildings have stood quietly for nearly a century. I grew up surrounded by these windows, their graceful lines, their elegant geometry and they became part of the backdrop of my childhood.
It is been a while since I came back to Shanghai. Walking through the old streets, I began to collect the windows. I passed from Art Deco gems to modern designs. Each one felt like a small story waiting to be told.
Each page pairs geometry with nostalgia, a window, a pattern, a story. From a classic Ruby's cream cake, a sound of mahjong to a leaf falling from the plane trees, a hot bowl of wontons in a popular bar. Together, they form a love letter to the city I can never quite leave behind.
—Tianying Yu
Softcover, 12 Pages, 7 x 4.6 in, Risograph-printed Zine/ Side Sewn Binding, 2025.