The life and times of an old brick in Luwan* district
Located only minutes away from the hectic Xintiandi (新天地), the desolate longtang was as barren as the silence was deafening. February’s wintery cold only added to the vacuum….
Disappearing, Gone
Standing tall on Tanggu Lu but not for long
A little north of Suzhou Creek, nestled behind the cacophony of Qipu Lu’s (七浦路) hectic wholesale clothing district lie two rather statuesque structures on Tanggu Lu (塘沽路)*. One…
If a Tree Falls in a Forest*
A purposeful pathway slices through Wuding Lu (武定路）(formerly known as Wuting Road) and Kangding Lu （康定路）(formerly Conaught Road), parallel to Xikang Lu (西康路) (formerly Ferry Road). On the…
The Shikumen Obituaries, Greater Shanghai Map and Reporting on Japan
— Ever wonder what an ongoing obituary for Shanghai’s old shikumen and houses looks like? Xi Zi (席子) has been compiling an ever-expanding photographic list of before and…
A Dash of Color in a Dying Neighborhood
[imagebrowser id=27] My brain rattled from the thundering of the driller which was breaking apart the concrete walls of a shikumen. Looming above was a beautiful arc of…
Mosaic-tiled public service posters in Ruihua Lane
I wasn’t quite sure how I landed in Ruihua Lane (瑞华坊) which is nestled between Fuxing Middle Lu (复兴中路) and Hefei Lu (合肥路). It wasn’t the most direct…
The happiest man in Shanghai
“Come along, come along!” he enthusiastically motioned me to catch up. For all his 60 years, he walked with a spring in his step while wheeling his bicycle….
In the distance
Standing at the edge of a 7 storey building, where an entire side of the wall had been ripped out, I felt like I was in the box…
Farming in the city
How much land does a man need? Leo Tolstoy had posed and answered the question in a 1886 short story about a greedy Russian peasant Pakhom, intent on…
Before and after on Sinan Lu
The contrast on both sides of the streets is only as jarring as you make it to be, or notice at all. Standing in the middle of Sinan…