Revisiting JR’s “Wrinkles of the City” in Shanghai
Some of you may have seen a giant photo booth truck in and around Shanghai with people queuing to have their portraits taken. A friend recently shared snaps…
Neighborhoods
Elaborate lattice woodwork in Confucius Lane (孔家弄)
In my few years of photographing old houses around Shanghai, I have never been this buoyant over lattice woodwork in its original setting. Perhaps it was a mix of…
Update: A Photographer’s Eviction from the house on Yulin Road
Note: This was originally published on 6 January, 2011. I have since updated it upon new details revealed. From a distance, the row of European-styled houses stood out…
Making friends in high places: Photographing Jiuan Fang (久安坊)
“What did you say you wanted?” The old lady stared wide-eyed at me. Her granddaughter, who was diligently practicing her characters on the dining table, eyed me curiously….
Art Deco influence on Shanghai’s shikumen
We all know that Art Deco has had a major influence in Shanghai starting from the 1930s at the peak of its Concession-era building boom. This city boasts one of the most…
Xingping Lane (星平里): Going, going, gone
Clutching my wrist tightly, she spoke with a heavy, sour breath, “You have to come back tomorrow with the photos,” and leaned closer to make her point, “We…
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…
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…
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…
Shanghai’s lost shikumen and villas in 2013
When the editor over at Shanghaiist approached me to write a review of “lost” historical buildings in Shanghai in 2013, I hesitated for a brief moment. In an attempt to…