University of Shanghai
During his career Murphy made eight trips to China, the first for a few weeks in 1914, the last and longest from 1931 to 1935. In 1919, he was in charge of designing the campus of University of Shanghai (now University of Shanghai for Science and Technology). In the early 1920s, Murphy designed several landmark buildings for Tsinghua University, Beijing, including The Grand Auditorium and the Main Library. He was an advocate of traditional Chinese architectural styles, adapted to modern uses.