Books: Karaoke, concubines and chaos in Shanghai

Mark Kitto's 'China Running Dog' revisits the wild times of the 'roaring 2000s'

Though "China Running Dog" is a work of fiction, British author Mark Kitto drew heavily on his experiences as an expat in turn-of-the-millennium Shanghai. "I've written two memoirs, but I often joke, this is the real story," says Kitto. (Source photos courtesy of Plum Rain Press, Thomas Bird)

THOMAS BIRD

April 10, 2025 08:00 JST

It is a cold day in North London, the wind biting at the ears much as it sometimes does in distant Beijing, where the British actor and onetime China resident Mark Kitto studied Chinese in 1986.

I find him already warming up inside a Sicilian-run restaurant where we have planned to rendezvous. Although the cocksure swagger of his halcyon years in China has dissipated somewhat, he is a commanding presence at 58, standing over six feet tall and boasting a full head of blonde hair.