Private surveillance in old shikumen lanes
They watched with a deceptive air of insouciance that masked a deeper, almost territorial, wariness. Stray cats, in various hues of black, brown and ginger, rested lazily on…
Fresh seafood on Tongchuan Lu
A few months ago, I joined a few friends for lunch at Tongchuan Lu Seafood market (海鲜美食街) located on Tongchuan Lu (铜川路) near Lanxi Lu (兰溪路) in Putuo…
The diaper store nail house
“He’s a stubborn one.” “Who?” The middle aged man pointed at a small and dusty shop, its wares piled up high on both sides of the entrance while…
Wet and windy
They had called for snow and rain, and by they, I mean the local weathermen with their annoying warnings of a cold front. By the time the sun…
Behind the Camera: Peter Dixie on Shanghai’s “Hinterland”
Peter Dixie is a Shanghai-based commercial landscape and architecture photographer, and founder of Lotan agency. Having trained first in the UK and later with a prominent Japanese film lab in Tokyo, Dixie…
马年祝福！Happy Chinese New Year!
As hundreds of Chinese families across Asia settle down to reunion dinner, I’m writing to you by the poolside under swaying palm trees, blue skies and blooming bougainvillea….
Year of the (Przewalski’s) Horse
Late December, the Hurstville Library in southern Sydney, Australia, contacted me about participating in an exhibit, “Stories of the Zodiac: Exploring the 12 Animal Signs in Asian Culture” now…
Preparing to gallop into the new year
Since I moved to Shanghai years ago, I have made it a point to visit the shops around Yu Gardens or Yuyuan (豫园) right before Chinese New Year…
A bit of London in Shanghai’s lanes
Shanghai has been enjoying spectacular weather over the last two days. Slim puffy white clouds drifted across clear blue skies, basking in brilliant sunshine. The brisk cold air added…
Take me to the white elephant
The sun shone brilliantly albeit through a light haze. My objective that morning was to photograph a particular shikumen in Xiaonanmen (小南门). And Katya Knyazeva and Ishi Mak were…