Last Boat Out of Shanghai

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The dramatic, real-life stories of four young people caught in the mass exodus from Shanghai following China's 1949 Communist Revolution illustrate the struggles faced by modern emigrants. Shanghai, once China's most affluent and westernized city, was home to intellectuals and a thriving middle class when Mao's revolution took hold. Fearing the impending horrors of Communist rule, many citizens fled. Seventy years later, the last generation with vivid memories of this exodus shared their experiences with Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed numerous exiles about their tumultuous journeys. From these accounts, Zia tells the stories of four Shanghai residents grappling with the choice to abandon their lives for uncertain futures as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U.S. Young Benny, burdened by his father's wartime legacy, must decide whether to escape to Hong Kong or navigate Communist China. Annuo, fleeing with her father, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. Ho, facing deportation, fights to continue his studies in the U.S. while his family struggles back home. Lastly, Bing, given away by her impoverished parents, confronts the challenges of starting anew among strangers in America.