上海法租界
She grew up in Shanghai French Concession, where (under her western name, "Irene Chow") she received a multi-lingual education at The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mctyeire School (中西女中) in Shanghai and King George V School in Hong Kong. During her childhood, Tsai Chin was witness to colonial occupation, Japanese invasion of China, Chinese Civil War and the Communist take-over in 1949.