As Seen by TV

Well, I’m somewhat of a New Yorker myself… born in Morningside and matured (somewhat, actually maybe not) in Brooklyn.  So I know me a block party.  Close… Converse set this one up on Moganshan Road with head-lining musical act Jeru the Damaja, a legendary 90′s underground MC.  I’d seen him before in NYC, but never this close and this out-of-step with his listeners… but that’s not his fault, that’s almost solely the fault of the Chinese.

The police department shut this party down early citing “noise complaints”, which is utterly hilarious in it’s own right, never mind the 24/7 construction (even at 6am on Sunday’s), or the constant car horns, or the firecrackers outside every wedding or business openinig, etc. It’s just sad that the police/government has to clamp down on any form of creative expression, especially in concern with things they don’t understand (like music and art; or just life in general). Jeru said it himself when someone shouted out “f*ck the police, f*ck the government” to which he replied “yeah, you can say that, but I surely can’t say that sh*t cuz I still gotta get outta here.”  True.

Anyway, about the pics… some stuff with graffiti, some “typical” NY food, a dope MC, and some dude getting his hair cut (which for some really strange reason was a massive success with the photographer/videographers in the crowd).

Peace & Love.

Taken over a month ago (yeah, I know… but it’s been a busy couple weeks for me) this was one of the first spring-like days to hit Shanghai.  Originally I had wanted to see the “pr0tests” dealing with the Jasm1ne Rev0lution… but what we found were almost 100 “undercover” agents stationed all around the Peace (irony?) Cinema… it was a tense and creepy scene (made more so by getting stared at by each and every one of them; foreigner + camera = no good).  So instead, we just walked around People’s Square and enjoyed the nice weather. 

I still prefer my name for Holland Village… SHANGSTERDAM.

Holland Village [map], another housing project part of the “1 City – 9 Towns” initiative the Shanghai Planning Commission set up in 2001.  Designed by Dutch architects, this project, like Thames Town (see my posts of Thames Town here and here), is not quite a success, partly because it is located too far away from the city (20min walk to metro, then over an hour to Peoples Square), and partly because Chinese tastes do not suit with Dutch architecture, nevermind the price tag of 35,000RMB per square meter.  Hardly as intricate as the “British” Thames Town (not even a single bike stall!), but definitely worth a visit and walk around.  Just about as much as a ghost town as the “British” Town, but a few more locals walking around, as Holland Village (aka Shangsterdam!) is better integrated with the surrounding town of Gao Qiao, whereas Thames Town was a seriously locked-down housing complex (with only 2 entrances/exits).

To visit Shangsterdam, you can easily walk from the North Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone station, the second to last stop on line 5.  Then an easy, and picturesque (see previous post) 20min walk following the river through traditional Chinese streets and you’ll eventually see the windmill located on an island in the middle of the river you’ve been following.

Well, here they are.  Night #5 of Chinese New Year in Shanghai… once again putting my life in danger… and in the aftermath both camera & photography covered in ash.  All completely worth it.

Keep in mind it wasn’t foggy at all that night… those are all clouds from the firework explosions going on in every direction.  It’s mayhem at it’s finest and most beautiful. 

Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to see the post from last year: CNY – Year of the Tiger (2010)

Day 4 of Chinese New Year… went for a stroll around Xujiahui (actually, the first 3 are from around my office).  Fireworks in every direction, every night for almost 2 weeks long… Shanghai almost literally turns into a warzone.

The night of day 5 is when all hell breaks loose (besides New Years Eve of course)… and those pictures will be uploaded soon.  The images of  Chinese New Year day 5 from last year still holds the record for the highest traffic to my blog, ever… so, why not check out that post again HERE (warning: dope photography!).  This year’s to follow soon!

Part 2 of our trek through Thames Town (part 1) brings us past a Parisian square, complete with French street names, a map of Paris, up to date advertising posters for current exhibitions going on in Paris, as well as proper Paris Telecom phone booths.  What turned out to be a strange day, just got even stranger.

Also randomly stumbled upon a massive underground [and completely vacant] parking garage, located undernearth the church… parking for who, is anyone’s guess.

I live a 4 minute walk from the Jiatong University campus, decided to wander and meander around… this is from over a month ago (work has been keeping me too busy!).

A stroll through the streets of Old Shanghai…