Watch where you cross
He had a hard look, the kind that resented people on sight which was only sharpened by his menacing tattoo. He appeared as if he had the world…
Street Stories
Maneuvering through traffic
For a two-way street, Hongkou market is a smorgasbord of traffic. It is impossible to stand still in any part of the street without a car, bicycle or…
Her home. A long history.
She left most affairs to her son whom she lived with. She slept on the first floor which was neat and well kept while he slept in the…
Feeding the workers
The business of construction involves more than labor and machinery. It often extends to an integrated supply chain of services solely aimed at addressing the daily needs of…
Power breakfast
CEOs have their executive breakfasts at the Hyatt or Shangri La in gleaming skyscrapers. The ordinary construction worker has his by the side of the road amidst the…
The face of Shanghai’s skyline
We don’t pay enough tribute to the backbone of Shanghai’s construction fervor, as unhappy as Shanghai residents seem to be by all the Expo-driven noise and air pollution….
Better city, better life – redux
From a small town outside of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, he looked perfectly airbrushed to be the face of the upcoming Shanghai Expo: the proud craftsman behind the…
Solitary labor
Dawn was just about breaking when I saw him through the haze of cement dust. In a sea of construction workers milling around for breakfast, this man was…
White picket fences
He was sitting on his makeshift porch, mending his bicycle when I approached him. He stood up warily and it was then I realized that he only came…
The remaining days
He laughed when I asked how long he and his wife were living in this house. “She’s not my wife. She’s my mother-in-law.” It was only after a…