Temptress Moon is set in Shanghai and the Pang Estate. The latter was only 100 kilometers from the former. It was situated in the wealthiest region in China in the south of Suzhou. Despite its proximity to Shanghai, the Pang Estate depended on its revenue from agricultural and handcraft industries, representing the most traditional force in Chinese society. On the other hand, Shanghai in the 1920s was the centre for almost all of the modern industries that existed in China at the time. It was a city run by Western civilization. Together, the Pang Estate and Shanghai were a symbol of the clash between traditional and modern China.