Shanghai Architecture for Chinese Language Learners

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About the Course

Shanghai, often celebrated as a “Global Museum of Architecture”, offers a living classroom for studying Chinese language, history, and culture. Designed for advanced Chinese language learners, this course uses Shanghai’s rich architectural heritage as a lens through which students strengthen their reading, writing, speaking, and presentation skills while developing a deeper understanding of the city’s cultural identity and urban transformation.

Since its launch in Spring 2023, “Shanghai Architecture for Chinese Language Learners” has become an innovative model for combining advanced Chinese language instruction with experiential cultural learning. In recognition of its distinctive curriculum design and educational impact, the course was selected for the “Shanghai Municipal-Level Undergraduate Key Curriculum Initiative in 2024”.

Through carefully selected readings, discussions, writing assignments, presentations, and field-based learning, students explore Shanghai’s architectural development across three major periods: the ancient heritage period shaped by Ming and Qing traditions; the cosmopolitan “golden age” of the 1920s and 1930s; and the modern development period marked by new residential communities, urban renewal, and the transformation of the Pudong skyline. The course also examines the preservation of historical buildings, neighborhood life, and the relationship between architecture, memory, and the urban environment.

Through city walks and specially organized field trips, students engage directly with Shanghai’s landmarks, local residences, historic districts, and lesser-known urban spaces. Future course development will continue to expand these routes to include more diverse architectural landscapes, including suburban and rural areas connected to Shanghai’s broader cultural story.

Conducted entirely in Chinese, this course invites students to experience Shanghai not only as a city to visit, but also as a text to read, discuss, and interpret. By connecting language learning with architecture, history, and urban life, students gain greater linguistic confidence, cultural insight, and appreciation for Shanghai’s role as a dynamic international city.