FOR foreign residents who lived in the international concessions, Shanghai was a city with four distinct seasons and generally agreeable weather.

Nothing was more unforgettable than the winter of 1901 in Shanghai. Week after week there were clear skies by day and starry skies at night. When dusk came, Orion would rise above the horizon and disappear silently with the sunrise.

During such a warm winter, going outside was the most pleasant way of passing the time. Sports fans would never miss a chance to take part in their favourite activities, such as golf, soccer, shooting, horse-riding and hockey.

It was seldom freezing cold in Shanghai's winters and there was much lovely scenery. Pedestrians could walk among the fruit trees to enjoy their lunch outside.

However, there were years when winter in Shanghai was hard to endure. A severe frost was enough to enable people to skate for a whole week on Suzhou Creek.

However, the warm winds from the south brought pleasant spring days to the people of Shanghai. But locals never forgot that northwesterly winds could appear all of a sudden in early spring and wiser people always dressed warmly even on the seldom seen hot spring days.

Usually, people were more worried about having to spend July and August in Shanghai than any other months. Actually, the most unbearable time may have been the period from February to May when the weather was most changeable.

Indeed, spring in Shanghai sometimes was really worthy of appreciation until one found out that cold rainy days would begin the next day and the charm of spring quickly faded.

People found it hard to believe how fast plants were able to grow in springtime in Shanghai. Bamboo was the champion in this green racing match and if you were patient enough, you could sit beside the bamboo for one or two hours and watch it grow before your eyes.

When it came to June, bright warm days occurred for short periods but it did not do to rely on the weather remaining constant because in June, days of intermittent drizzle were a common occurrence even though the rainy season was supposed to have finished.

After a spell of rainy days, the hot wet summer would come. Many people left Shanghai at this time, since it was really hard to find a place to exercise outside because of the scorching sun overhead.

Then the temperature would start to drop little by little and the days began to shorten and it was time for people to enjoy their journey through autumn.

And in those days, at least 50 per cent of visitors going to and from Shanghai were not travelling for fun or for their health - they were only following whatever was the fashion. Therefore, is was better to stay in Shanghai if you did not have enough money.

(The author is from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)