Tess Johnston

Tess Johnston (September 17, 1931 – September 14, 2025) was an American author and foreign service specialist. During her time in Shanghai, she became interested in architecture and partnered with Chinese photographer Erh Dongqiang. Over the course of her career, she authored or co-authored over two dozen books and became a leading expert in the colonial architecture of Shanghai.

Life and career Johnston was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 17, 1931. She grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, She was subject to fewer restrictions than diplomats, allowing her to explore the city more freely; she particularly enjoyed shopping at the antiques markets on Sunday mornings.

Books A Last Look: Western Architecture in Old Shanghai (1993)

Final Five Shanghai Walks: The Where's Where of the Who’s Who of Old Shanghai (2016)

Memoirs

Permanently Temporary: From Berlin to Shanghai in Half a Century A War Away: An American Woman in Vietnam, 1967-1974 (2018)