Shanghai, China

2003-08 - 2004-03

walter@pratyeka.org

Various images of Shanghai gathered during my residence 2003-2004. I don't like the place very much, as may be evident from the comments.

The window from my room at the university. Looking down the Shanghai Bund at night.Shanghai street at night, near the Bund.Northeastern Shanghai skyline.The Pearl of the Orient TV tower, Pudong. View of the Bund from Pudong. You can see some of the old buildings, eclipsed by McDonalds signs and People's Republic of China flags.The entrance to YuYuan (Jade Gardens), central Shanghai.Yuyuan Gardens introduction, in Chinese and English.A dragon-capped wall inside Yuyuan gardens. An old stage for theatre performance, pictured here after relocation to Yuyuan gardens, Shanghai.Traditional Chinese roof, Yuyuan Gardens, Shanghai.An unhappy guardian by his portal. Yuyuan Gardens, Shanghai.Two horses stand locked in an embrace in a sidestreet, Shanghai. Da Shijie, literally "Great World", an historic building that is possibly to be knocked down in the near future. It was a notorious gambling den back in Shanghai's good old days.Sunset in central Shanghai. The sky is always a putrid orange. The building on the left is the municipal planning building, which houses a large scale model of the city.Nanjing Dong Lu (Nanjing East Road), the famed shopping center of Shanghai. It's 95% modern department stores nowdays. As you fight your way through the crowds, little kids will come up and push business-card advertisements in to your hands, prostitutes will call you down alleys for massages, and 'art students' will sucker you in to their 'exhibitions' to try to force you to buy something. All things considered, not very enjoyable, but it's worth the experience once or twice.The Pearl of the Orient TV Tower, Pudong, as viewed from the Bund. Shanghai has curvy escalators! Talk about novelty! Can you imagine what these things cost? Of course, no curvy escalator would be complete without a proper astroturf lining.One of Shanghai's livelier smaller streets, just north of Nanjing Dong Lu. I'm sure these old houses are slated for destruction any day now...Hah! You want sky? Pierced, barred and prodded, the only putrid-orange excuse for a sky you'll get in Shanghai looks something like this....Shanghai's version of progress. Out with the old, in with the new. Notice the lack of public safety barriers... you're welcome to come and scavenge! Inside one of the Shanghai metro trains. These get quite crowded at rush hour.Darting through the University campus trees."Shanghai grasping"A sea of people. This picture was taken from a temporary overpass leading from Nanjing Xi Lu to Nanjing Dong Lu during the course of major construction work. Looking down on the street through some trees and scaffolding. French quarter apartment, Shanghai.The lights are MUCH brighter than the moon, which penetrates the permanent haze only slightly. Shanghainese bost about their air quality, which is, admittedly, a lot better than Beijng's.My old room, 1105, in Huadongshida's old student dormitories.Morning skyline, northwest Shanghai. As the putrid orange sun sets on another day of wealth-chasing, the Shanghainese are undoubtedly too busy to notice.Well east of Shanghai proper, the small township of Chuansha, closer to Shanghai's Pudong airport, comes across as a low-rise paradise. However, it wont last long. 'Progress' has already begun!Another shot of Chuansha, well in to Pudong. On the left can be seen one of the town's markets. It takes at least an hour to get out here from central Shanghai.'Bird call pagoda', Chuansha, Pudong. It's about an hour east of Shanghai. One of the examples of strange Shanghainese architecture, this pressed-spherical shopping centre (ground floor) also features a massive badminton stadium (upper floor). One of Shanghai's numerous raised roads can be seen in the lower part of the picture.Some of the many types of Tofu available at a local market, Shanghai.Bhaisajaguru in Sanskrit (Yaoshi Fo in Chinese, or Medicine Buddha in English), sits in Jade Buddha Temple reminding we mere mortals of the precariousness of our lives in Samsara.One of the original Jade Buddhas brought from Burma, Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai. Jade Buddha Temple's main courtyard during some rain. Shanghai.
Hosted at pratyeka. Last updated Friday, April 23, 2004.