Shanghai Street Scenes

Shanghai

From the backroads and little alleys of Shanghai

A bus parking lot in the early morning light, shot from above. The sunlight reflecting from the ground creates nice geometric forms. This old lady was practicing for maybe two hours, her agility belying her age. The sword is not sharp and very flexible, but give her a real sword and you would not want to face her. Repairs to the electrical wiring are often made with rather little precautions. A wooden ladder leaning against the wires, a hemp rope and the work can begin. Far from being a rare sight, this is how things are done in Shanghai. Similar methods are used for cleaning the facades of skyscrapers and more. Advertising in the metro clashes with the reality of the travelers, many of whom can't afford the modern trappings of the city and are left behind in the race for a better future. The fish market in Shanghai is full of gritty images, smiling people and fish. Busy in the early morning, it all quiets down around 7am. Then the corrugated steel plates come up and get washed and the repairs get done. In this image, a welder fixes the rails under the steel plates and basks everything in the light from his torch. Unusually clean, this little dumpling kitchen serves a hole in the wall restaurant off the beaten track in Shanghai. Shot on film, as most of my black and white this is what Shanghai really looks like, to most of the foreigners living there. Amidst the rubble of her mostly torn down neighborhood, a little girl who is still living there walks along. Scenes like these are all too common in Shanghai, where the old homes make way for new high rises and shopping malls and the old tenants are displaced to the outskirts, their livelihoods destroyed and the future uncertain. A construction site in downtown Shanghai. While workers in the background clamber over mountains of steel, the guard has a bad day. An old man looks at the remnants of his old home. Amidst the rubble, a few houses are still standing, their tenants still there.

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This old lady was practicing for maybe two hours, her agility belying her age. The sword is not sharp and very flexible, but give her a real sword and you would not want to face her.

Practice #1, Shanghai, China

This old lady was practicing for maybe two hours, her agility belying her age. The sword is not sharp and very flexible, but give her a real sword and you would not want to face her.

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