Dr. X's neighborhood was in the Ming Dynasty heart of Shanghai, a 
warren of tiny brick structures sheathed in gray stucco, topped with tiled 
roofs, frequently surrounded by stucco walls. Iron poles projected from the 
second-story windows for drying clothes, so that in the narrow streets the 
buildings appeared to be fencing with each other. This neighborhood was near 
the foundation of the ancient city wall, built to keep out acquisitive 
Nipponese ronin, which had been torn down and made into a ring road.