Embankment Building
Building in Shanghai, China.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakneck | Dan Wang | turning point | On a eerie late-March day the author and Silvia cycle past this art deco building that once housed Jewish refugees and see dabai suiting up to seal it. |
Breakneck — Dan Wang (2025)
Source: Readwise highlight
As we cycled back home, we saw the Embankment Building transformed. Health workers and police officers had covered the exits and were helping each other put on all-white protective suits held together with blue tape.
- Role: turning point
- In the book: On a eerie late-March day the author and Silvia cycle past this art deco building that once housed Jewish refugees and see dabai suiting up to seal it. It is the image that makes them realise how bad things are, and later prompts their decision to leave.
- Why it matters: It is the vivid scene where the dabai become symbols of zero-Covid enforcement and the trigger for the couple’s departure from Shanghai.