What is the setting of Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong?

The novel is mostly set in Shanghai, China in the early 1990s. Shanghai is a huge city that is made up of many districts. Modern day China is adjusting to economic reforms that are at odds with the Communist ideals that people have been used to in the previous half century. Communist policies and politics are pervasive to every aspect of the tightly controlled society. Whether in work or at home, the Party is an ever present force in society.