Toiling in the heatwave: whither thy subsidy?
His world was a three-block radius. Each day before the sun rose, he would wake from his dormitory bed which creaked from rusty springs. The mattress was thin…
day worker
Melancholic tang poetry on shikumen walls
Somewhere in the labyrinth of shikumen lanes between Jinan Lu (济南路) and Hefei Lu (合肥路), the soundtrack of longtang living was underway: the clanging of spatulas against sizzling…
A little scrap story
While I am not one for following major scrap stories like some folks, it is nevertheless amusing to hear the backstories of what, why and how involving “DIY…
A review of 2010 (part two)
I continue with a review of my favorite (and yours, in some cases) photos from 2010. It’s always nice to look back at the style and subjects of…
The transaction
In the afternoon that I have been hanging out at a scrapyard along Huoshan Lu (霍山路), I noticed an old man shuffling quietly through with a small bag…
A day of rest
He was sitting alone, surrounded by concrete sand and mud, reading a newspaper on top of a tiny table. Behind him was his home, a large blue storage…
Shanghai’s scrapers
The other day, a woman fell out of the sky and missed me by an inch. You think I’m making this up? I was hurriedly striding along the…
The gentleman who does construction
In his paint-speckled work jacket, he had a laizzare-faire air about him that was striking yet charming at the same time. A profile shot was irresistible. Yet at…
Hello Kitty keeps his ears warm
Judging from his blue uniform with yellow reflector stripes, he was a sanitary work or the likes. We were both standing in line for some hot flat bread…
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…