A tour through old Shanghai

A few weeks back Greg and I took advantage of a day he had off to take a guided tour of some old Shanghai lanes. Shanghai changes constantly, and much of the really old construction is gone already or will be soon. Some of the old lanes are still here though, where people have lived in extremely tight quarters for decades. When companies come in to build new skyscrapers and commercial centers the people who live where they are building are relocated to places farther from the heart of the city. According to our guide those people are surprisingly eager to be relocated as they are compensated and are able to purchase much newer and nicer housing than they had. The construction is also, for the most part, not all that special, so much of it is just torn down to make way for the new. There are a few exceptions where the government has decided to preserve some blocks of housing, but not very much, and the people who live there aren't particularly happy that they can't cash in on this "one in a hundred years lottery." Our guide was Wang Gangfeng, a local photographer with a very interesting story of his own. He grew up in these Shanghai lanes, so has a very strong connection to the people there. If you would like to see some of his photos, or learn a little more about him, his website is http://www.gangofone.com.cn/

Here are some of the pictures Greg took on our tour.

This rubble is a block of housing that has just been removed The house that was left was determined to be of historical interest, so they will build around it. It had been a wealthy person's house back when people could own land here, and was converted into a school by the communist government.

The next pictures are of a Shanghai institution, called simply the "snack street." You do hear people upset talking about this street being torn down. Yang's fry dumpling is probably the most famous dumpling restaurant in town, and once this street goes, the options for really inexpensive lunches in downtown Shanghai will be cut way down. Most of these places will go out of business, and those that choose to open in the newer facilities will have to pay much higher rents, so will have to charge more for their food.

Here are some pictures of a residential row that will be gone within the next few months, and a picture of the inside of one residence where the people who live there run a mahjong house every night. When our guide took us in to see the room the lady who lives there and runs the "club" was sleeping on a couch. He said the club is open every night-- sun down to sun up-- so I can understand why she wouldn't want to bother with us!

We had a great time on the tour, and I definitely felt like I got some insight into how millions of Chinese people live and have lived for the last half century or so.