
The former Royal Asiatic Society building
Far from the maddening crowds on the Bund, the Rockbund Art Museum on Huqiu Lu (虎丘路) is a favored destination that singularly embodies the East meets West history, design and architecture of…
Far from the maddening crowds on the Bund, the Rockbund Art Museum on Huqiu Lu (虎丘路) is a favored destination that singularly embodies the East meets West history, design and architecture of…
I’ve always liked the predictability and soothing effect of uncomplicated patterns. This was one reason why I found myself standing in front of a discreet entrance off the…
What makes a shikumen (石库门) header an architectural tapestry so emblematic of Shanghai? The grey stone pediment, shaped in a triangle or semi-circle, contains designs that range from the…
There is nothing quite like watching history in movement, the flickering of black and white, and jerky movements of humans and machine caused by the limitation of old…
What I love about photographing old shikumens and lilongs are the designs and motifs threaded into the exterior and interior of the buildings. How elaborate or simple, modern…
If you look closely, the legacy of Japanese presence in pre-war and war-time Shanghai can be found across the city’s old neighborhoods, dating back to their emergence as…
Every time I travel along the busy Henan Lu (河南路), I watch for the blue plastic awnings that dot each window of the seemingly nondescript building. The walls are…
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…
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…
“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….