Elaborate lane house door, circa early 1900s
Closer...
Closer still...
Beautiful detail
Recycling, Shanghai style
A local depot
All over the city, there are men on mopeds or bikes,
ringing their bells, collecting recyclables.
I've seen people foraging through trash cans, searching for bottles and cans.
All those items can be recycled for money.
As you can see from the photo, cardboard is also a "cash recyclable".
Local cutie
Note Michelin Man appearance.
Chinese children are bundled up so much they lose the ability to easily bend their limbs.
The English Corner in the Dragon Gate Village, a community of old lane houses.
I love this!
As a member of the local Neighbourhood Committee explained to us, this is an area where young students can go after school and be supervised by older students who are ostensibly teaching them English.
Guess what this is?
A fly trap!
I'm sure our guide thought I was nuts taking a
picture, but it was new to me and many others, just so you know.
Simple door leading into a lane house. The white box is for milk.
As it was explained to us (I trust this is true, but you never know), a local milk company years ago realized that it wasn't selling much fresh milk. The Chinese were, and rightly so, leery about fresh milk spoiling after it was delivered. So the company devised these boxes to keep the milk from going bad. These boxes are not refrigerated. Milk sales increased as everyone clabbered clamoured to get one to keep up with the Chins. Hmmmm....
The entrance hall to the house.
The number of ...whatever those things are, represents the
number of households in this building.
Somewhere, Mike Holmes is having an aneurysm.
This is the really cool part. We were allowed inside one of the lane houses!
Having native guides is the best.
Stairway in the three storey building
Talk about steep and narrow!
The buildings are very densely populated. There is no room for kitchens in each apartment, so they put them out on the landing and make them communal.
These houses weren't always so crowded, but history and growth have made them so.
Our guide also told us that these homes are considered middle class.
I believe it.
Outside again, examining the former owner's stamp on the house corner.
Note how clean the alley is.
The revolving exit gate of Dragon Gate Village prevents bicycle theft.
Great idea!
Exploring the surrounding neighbourhood, one of the oldest in Shanghai.
You can tell because the buildings are made of wood, not stone.
We were told not to take pictures of the people in this market area as many of them are here illegally. They come from outside Shanghai and don't have city residence permits. I obliged.
I could, however, and did, take photos of a woman's hands as she made these
pork and rice bundles, wrapped in banana leaves, tied with string.
The ingredients
Very deft
She offered us all one, but I declined, having become suddenly,
but only momentarily, vegetarian.
Another great tour, another fascinating peek into the lives of everyday Shanghainese.
1 comment:
Many thanks.
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