Patrick Cranley

Fields of expertise: Shanghai / Architecture, history and urban development of Shanghai

Languages: English, Chinese

Wm Patrick Cranley has studied China for 30 years, and it seems that his fascination just keeps growing stronger. Academically trained in comparative economics, international business and Chinese politics, in recent years his research has focused on Shanghai’s history, architecture and urban development. Visitors who have enjoyed Cranley’s custom-designed tours of Shanghai include celebrities, architects, business people, academics, government officials and many others who share a keen interest in China’s most exciting city. He authored chapters on the city’s economics and architecture in the Insight Guide Shanghai, and a chapter on the Bund in Still More Shanghai Walks. His tours are recommended in Condé Nast Traveler; Luxe Guide to Shanghai; Nota Bene; Departures magazine; and by a number of top-tier travel companies. Cranley is Director of Development for the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, a joint venture graduate school operated by the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Nanjing University. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and received degrees from Brown University, the University of Michigan, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, and l’Université de Dijon. From 2001-2009 Cranley was managing director of AsiaMedia, a Shanghai-based marketing and communications consultancy. From 1996-2001, he ran the China operations of CIGNA Corporation, a Fortune 500 healthcare and financial services company. He served as a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai for five years, including a term as Chairman in 2000. He is a member of the National Council on U.S.-China Relations. Resident in Shanghai since 1997, Patrick founded Historic Shanghai in 1998 together with well-known authors and Shanghai historians Tess Johnston and Tina Kanagaratnam. Through its research, programming, the group strives to raise awareness of the value of Shanghai’s social and architectural heritage and to educate new generations about this city’s fascinating history.

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