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…
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The diversity of design in shikumen headers
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The Invisible Stain of Japanese Comfort Houses in Shanghai’s Lilongs
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Conversations: Jie Li on “Shanghai Homes: Palimpsests of Private Life”
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A history of the (underground) printing press in Shanghai’s shikumen
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“Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan (安源)”: A Mural in Siwen Lane (斯文里)
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Elaborate lattice woodwork in Confucius Lane (孔家弄)
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My favorite Shanghai moments for Vogue
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Neighborhoods
The simplicity in patterned wood
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…
The diversity of design in shikumen headers
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…
Conversations
Conversations: Maureen Fan on the legacy of architect Robert Fan Wenzhao
My interview with Maureen Fan about her grandfather, Robert Fan Wenzhao (1893-1979), has been long overdue. What started as an introductory email several years ago grew into a…
Behind the camera: K.S. McMullen on filming docu-fiction ‘Nail House’
I love hearing from passionate artists who reach out to share their works – photo essays, poems, short films – a reflection of their time, consideration and dedication….
Behind the Camera: Alessandro Zanoni on Shanghai’s urban landscapes
In the years of photographing Shanghai, I’ve had a chance to meet a wide array of talented photographers and researchers as enthusiastic about documenting the city as I am. They…
Latest Posts
Lining up the tiles
He had a smirk on his face that came as quick as it disappeared. A winning hand perhaps? It was hard to tell with the room thick with…
Next door, next to go
If you walked by too quickly, you would have missed her. A crowd had gathered to watch an ongoing demolition of a row of old houses. Some were…
Moving out and moving on
It was the same story. The area by Lanyi Dock Road (赖义码头) was half-demolished and residents have more or less emptied out. This family had over 20 people…
Out with the old
It is not uncommon to bump into lone individuals surveying old longtangs that are undergoing demolition – the occasional photographer who quietly weaves in and out of shadowed…
How do you view China?
If I were a romantic, I’d paint a picture of China’s social and economic contrasts. A stalwart worker poised on his bicycle, a mode of transportation that once…
The Baker
I bought a shaobing from this young man, piping hot from the cylinder drum which he baked them in. You could see the wafts of aromatic smoke trailing…
Everyday is bring-your-child-to-work day
At the moment, existing or ‘live’ old neighborhoods that are spared from the wrecking ball are either refurbishing their exteriors or reconstructing in slivers of spaces that can…
Some grow up tough
Others are born tough. He stared intently into my camera and slowly brought his handkerchief up toward me, as if he was readying to wipe my lens….
Alley bend blur
“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” ~ H.G. Wells
When you slow down
The days have been dreary here in Shanghai. Nasty wet, grey gloom and all-round chilly. That afternoon, I had descended into a mood I couldn’t get out of….
Homework is an unending journey
The entire country is in a perpetual state of self-improvement so as to reach the next level of the socio-economic ladder. Since time immemorial, each generation worked to…
A negotiation in bread
The jolly baker was a fixture at the market where teaming masses of human bodies bumped and jostled their way around. He always had a smile on his…
Recounting childhood memories
This past weekend, I met with Terence Lloren who runs “Growing up with Shanghai”, a project series of sound walks with young Shanghainese who grew up in the city in…
Behind the Camera: Howard French of "Disappearing Shanghai"
This is the first of the “Behind the Camera” series. A little background here. Howard W. French is an associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of…