Fruits and vegetables
Each time I go to the market, I see the same vendors sitting in the same spots, only marked by different clothing and wares. Each season, the fruits…
Shanghai
A flattened part of Shimen Yi Lu (石门一路)
I was standing on a rooftop of an old building, now inhabited mostly by construction workers who have successfully flattened a large block of old villas along Shimen…
Our varying interpretations of Shanghai’s streets
I first met the artist Shannon Lee in a dreary Starbucks in a nondescript office building, taking a small break from our day-jobs as mild-mannered corporate executives (him,…
The city as their urinal
Almost every evening, on my stroll home from the office, I pass by a long stretch of a wall that encloses one of many giant construction sites found…
Haircare
I found him standing by the pavement, staring into the distance. He was wrapped in a large plastic sheet with a giant plastic clip cinched near his neck. His hair…
Before dinnertime, you could…
… sing a song. … run an errand. … play one last round of carom. … run around with a stick of celery. … trim your hair. And…
The transaction
In the afternoon that I have been hanging out at a scrapyard along Huoshan Lu (霍山路), I noticed an old man shuffling quietly through with a small bag…
Stating the obvious: it’s hot.
This was taken a few weeks ago, on what was then the hottest day of the year. But by now, everyone would have been used to 38-40 degrees…
Behind the Camera: Tim Franco on photographing urban Shanghai
Tim Franco is a Franco-Polish photographer based in Shanghai, working mainly with analog film cameras, particularly on large formats. Among his projects is a comprehensive depiction of the…
Skaterboys
I was “chasing” 4 o’clock shadows at the intersection of 金陵东路 (Jinling Dong Lu) and 西藏南路 (Xizhang Nan Lu) when I heard a loud whoops and whooshes of…