A Glimpse Of Shanghai

It might have been a bit of a daft idea to decide to move somewhere for two years, into another world, where you've never been before.

Turns out, no problem. I got to go over for a solid week, and surprise, now I really can't wait to get myself and Maraika over there properly. It's too early to describe what this place is all about, I'd need a bit more than six days for a 25-million-people city, but, first contact, total win.

Most of the pictures come from a stroll one Saturday morning and from a Wednesday-night-gig at the copy markets, as most of the time - and rightly so - was spent at work, the reason we went over in the first place.

China is, to say the least, a bit weird. Shanghai itself, skyscrapers (but for dwelling about, not corporate) as far as you can see, a solid mist consisting of 20% humidity and 80% exhaust gases with a composition that I don't even want to know, as much honking as on a busy Tuesday morning in Milan, Thai massages with near mandatory happy endings, 15-story-buildings in 5 days, iPhone fakes that only (ahem) lack a touch screen, leafy leafy streets with 1920ies houses next to 50-story apartment blocks and on and on. More. To. Come.

 

And before you go check out the pictures, heres a WTF-Fact for you. The USA exports $350 million dollars worth of chicken feet to China, annually.

You can also go back home if you fancy.

Beef In The Streets
10pm in the French Concession, amidst pubs, clubs and shady massage places, here's for your dinner. Enjoy!
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

Shanghai Regal Hotel
This is where we stayed. Some 20-odd floors, world-class gym and leisure facilities and even THERE they offer you happy endings with your massages.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

Colleages at dinner.
This was awesome. I had chicken feet, they had duck's head, and I was told I ate pig brain. Digestive system overload.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

My chinese project manager enjoying his duck's head, europeans taking pictures. Class.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

New age pointy stuff with graininess and developer marks.
Artsy.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

Individual transport solutions on the way to the copy markets. Three-highway interchanges in the middle of the city and no agreement whether to follow traffic rules or not. Brilliant.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

Our taxi driver checking me out.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

The obvious out-of-my-hotel-room picture.
This one nicely resembles the one I took out of a Nottingham Holiday Inn Express in 2007. Trust me.
What you see though is Pudong at the upper left, with the whole French Concession district below.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

Fake Basti Schweini Jersey.
£3 if you haggle. Book in 20 minutes for that effort though.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

Fake iPhones and a happy seller.
Theres several quality grades. These ones are the cheapest, expect about 30 quid for these. I don't know if they work, he told me they even work in Uzbekistan.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar.

Pudong Subway. Kids all over the place.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

Nanjing Road. Touristy.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

Posing on The Bund.
We got there at 9ish, the warm temperatures kept the people on the river banks. Thousands. Brilliant.
Kodak 400TX via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer, first frame and dust from Sutton Coldfield.

Ah! French Concession!
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

I loved this. I was having a little walk on Saturday morning, I'm in the middle of a 25-million-people-metropolis and its dead quiet.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

Ivy walls in the French Concession.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

shangh2

Saturday morning business, French Concession.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

To counterbalance the image before, two Shanghainese on a Saturday morning stroll.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

sh
Seriously, ALL taxis there are VW Santanas.
I learned they are colour coded, turquoise and green ones are the biggest companys and normally alright. Red taxis is the standard taxi for all the other small companies and they might bring you down the Silk Street and charge you a fortune. Watch out.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer
And then, 10 minutes and £2 of a taxi ride later, you're in the middle of this kind of thing!
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer

Again, just off the main street, grannys doing the laundry. Brilliant.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

The smell in these streets is the weirdest stuff.
You walk along, and all of a sudden, a wave of tar hits you. You move ahead, and curry hits you right in the neck. Interesting.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
235
Brick house! I love brick houses. This area even had a tad a touch of the Northern Quarter, just with more food on the street and less hipsters.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
Oh yeah, smoking.
A pack of cigarettes is about 60p, you can smoke inside, and EVERYONE does it. And I thought Switzerland was bad for the lungs.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
In between all the leafiness and the little grannies shopping groceries on the streets, they bang these into the neighborhood. Oh well. Each and every single flat has its own air con, by the way.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
In Ur Streetz, Doin Ur Washinz.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
On a little square across the polish embassy, we find a grocery store/ scooter garage/ machine shop/ restaurant - thing.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
Work benches in the machine shop part of the... still can't define it.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

OH YOU TOTAL LEDGE.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 35mm Elmar

Shoe shop. TV in the background, running, radio in the foreground, running, and he's playing with an iPhone. Ah.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

Can you see the bavarian on the steel crossbars?
I am currently accepting optinions on how they got this thing up there.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

Back Street Film Noir Style.
I am, again, visually repeating myself, but isn't this bloody lovely?
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
Check out how old beautifully blends into new. Ish.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

Example of:
Ivy awesomeness, traffic, wiring chinese style, and again, ivy awesomeness.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron

These scooters were all electrical. Dig that, green parties of europe!
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 15mm Voigtländer
A three-part study on different city styles, all within 5 miles.
1: Ahh.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
2: Eh?
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
3: Ew.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3, 50mm Summicron
I leave you with two accidental double exposures of my hotel room view and the taxi.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3
...aaand the other one.
Ilford FP4 via Leica M3

 

 

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This gallery © 2011 aboutblank Sebastian Schweers.
If you steal these images, Maraika will sue you.