Reviving Transnational Elite Sociality: Social Clubs in Shanghai

Abstract

In the last three decades, Shanghai has witnessed the proliferation of an array of social clubs, reviving memories of the club culture of a previous era. This chapter probes the sociality of the old and new clubs in Shanghai. Operating under imperial extraterritoriality, clubs in old Shanghai transplanted the social hierarchy from their home country and were highly formal and rule bound. The clubs of the New Shanghainese are, however, the product of contemporary global capitalism. Although they have reinvigorated the club, their social profiles and ways of socializing are very different from the old Shanghailanders. This chapter adds to the study of the super-rich a perspective on one of the most important elite social institutions. The reemergence of social clubs is indicative of Shanghai’s recent development as a global city.