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….
弄堂
A dog’s life and a cat’s world
I’ve encountered my fair share of pets while roaming in old neighborhoods. Live poultry aside, they range from scruffy half-heartedly adopted dogs and cats that looked like they…
The street patrons of the Roving Exhibit
First of all, a word of thanks to all the folks who braved the torrential rain last Friday to attend my talk at the beautiful twocities gallery. I…
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…
Loitering youths and homemade tattoos
[imagebrowser id=41] Unless you have a specific purpose, hanging around the human crush at the clothing wholesale district of Qipu Lu (七浦路) is best avoided unless you take particular…
Shanghai’s Future Real Estate Developers?
The boys were on a mission. Focused and resolute, the objective was to build a faux irrigation ditch to channel the trickling stream of water cutting across the…
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…
Say it loud, but say what?
When someone writes anything ugly or inflammatory on public walls, it doesn’t take long for the authorities or the local committee to come along with a paintbrush to…