As Seen by TV

Chinese New Year – Shanghai Warfare:

Boom.

I was almost part of the image above… standing where that guy is standing (just to the right) about 40 seconds prior to this shot.  There was also a group of roughly a dozen people behind that parked car (to the left), luckily no one was seriously injured.
Well anyway, I will keep this short, as you’re eyes have probably already wondered to the thumbnails below.
The Chinese know how to celebrate New Years… one week of intensely beautiful and brutal warfare.  Also probably explains why I haven’t seen a pigeon in months.

Video I took around the time I captured images #20-21 above

And here is a video of Shanghai at midnight on Day 1 (not by me, as I left my point-n-shoot in the back of a taxi that night, RIP) that shows the scope of the mayhem that is Chinese New Year, (check it out!).

Oh, and by the way, all these photos (+ my video) were taken a block away from each other and on night 5!

So I figured out how to work the slideshow… here are some preliminary shots taken down Jiashan Lu (my street)… in my neighborhood which I refer to as South-Central French Concession (modern day Xuhui District).

I also finished my residency procedure just today, my permit should be sent to me in 2-3 weeks… the process wasn’t at all that bad.  A lot of steps, and more paperwork than anything I’ve ever had to do before… but the longest wait at any government building/police station/hospital was only just over an hour (and that was today, at 4pm on a Friday).  All the facilities were clean, nice, and modern (except the PoPo building) and people were generally friendly.  Plus I had an “agent” with me (colleague from work) who helped me out tremendously.  Actually the whole damn thing would have been near impossible considering all the non-Englishness.  Thank you Pauline!