Welcome to the Shanghailander blog!
My name is Hugues Martin / 马雨果 and I have been writing the Shanghailander blog since its start in 2006. I am French, coming from Burgundy (or Bourgogne in French) and having kept strong link to my home region and its World famous wines.
I first came to Shanghai in 1998, staying for about 2 months in the city. I returned to Shanghai in January 2004, from Budapest where I lived for a 6 years. Like many foreigners, I was supposed to stay a few years… but I never left the city. I got married with a charming Shanghai lady in 2009, and we got twins in 2017. We lived for 13 years in the former French Concession, before moving to Hong Qiao area.
I was also involved in starting the (now defunct) Shanghai Sideways company, that was giving tours of Shanghai in Chang Jiang 750 sidecars. This was a lot of fun and and a great way to show Shanghai to friends, visitors and residents. I sold the bike in 2013.
Apart from Shanghailander, which is only my hobby, I am an financial adviser for French expats in Asia. You can find more information about this other side of me on my Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huguesmartin/
For questions related to the Shanghailander blog, please contact me at: hmartin_at_shanghailander.net
I hope you enjoy reading the Shanghailander blog as much as I enjoy writing it.