by Dr Jane Loo

GEx Shanghai invites students to explore how Shanghai’s cultural and aesthetic landscape reflects its colonial past, Haipai (海派) hybridity, and evolving identities. Through reflection walks, museum visits, and contemporary and traditional performances, students will consider how space, atmosphere, and design shape perception and expression. Alongside Shanghai’s fast-paced visual culture, students will also engage with traditional Chinese aesthetics such as classical garden design, craft practices, and spatial philosophies. This will allow students to reflect on how different environments express changing cultural and aesthetic values. The programme combines philosophical and anthropological approaches through observation, analysis, and hands-on learning.