Abstract: After Shanghai's opening to outside world, Westerners introduced clubs as a novel mode of social contact and social institution. In spite of its exclusive and restrictive features, a club has catalyzed active and various social activities in addition to entertainment. As a product of the colonial period, this social mode has attracted foreign residents and local Chinese elites in modern Shanghai. This helped to reform traditional Chinese modes of social contact and played a vital role in China's social urbanization and modernization. Up to now, very few studies have focused on institutions for social contact. This paper reveals the amazing history of clubs in modern Shanghai and discusses the impact of this social mode by taking their "semi-colony" feature into account. The study on clubs in modern Shanghai will also shed light on the social life of contemporary transnational elites in this global age.

Key words: clubs, elites, social institutions, semi-colony, Shanghai