Confessions in Desheng Lane (德生里)
The entrance into De Sheng Lane (德生里) was like a door into nothingness. Surveying the vast sea of fallen brick and mortar, bleached by the blazing sun, I…
migrant labor
The Posture of Youth
“Youth is easily deceived, because it is quick to hope.” ~ Aristotle I had unintentionally trailed the two young girls for much of the block. One walked with…
What autumn means for some people
Was it only weeks ago that I was standing in the same intersection, trapped in a swirling dustbowl of construction, watching the team of leathery workers drill their…
The soundtrack of recycling glass
The crunch of glass rang through the air. Then the jarring scrap of a shovel dragging against the ground. Followed by the jingling of glass flung together. And…
House and home for a migrant family
There was no reason to have entered what looked like a dumpster along Meizhu Lu (篾竹路), north of Wangjiamatou Lu (王家码头路). Until a small head in pigtails poked…
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…
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…
Why aren’t you coming home?
If you’re still in the big cities, you may have noticed a slow exodus of people as the holidays near. Your ayis (domestic helpers) have taken leave, as…
Farming in the city
How much land does a man need? Leo Tolstoy had posed and answered the question in a 1886 short story about a greedy Russian peasant Pakhom, intent on…
Before and after on Sinan Lu
The contrast on both sides of the streets is only as jarring as you make it to be, or notice at all. Standing in the middle of Sinan…