We’re in a little town in Shanghai’s Pudong district, named 新港集镇 — which translates to something like New Harbor Market Town. It’s just a collection of houses, but this — and the 28°C weather — is all we need. It’s so quiet here, a rare thing in Shanghai. It’s as if everybody whispers, not to wake the clothes that are hung to dry. Even the dogs are silent.

The people who still live here are either seniors who lived here their whole life, taking care of a grandchild — or lowly paid migrant workers. Eva: “I don’t think they’re from South Jiangsu (苏南人), let alone from Zhejiang (浙江人). They wouldn’t agree to such living conditions. Many of them will have three-wheeled food stalls (摆摊).”

Some of the houses are in rough shape. There are lots of signs — graffiti or handwritten — of empty houses looking for renters. Some have a ‘拆’ (Tear down) sign on them, others have fixed their leaking roof by just installing a new roof on top of their old one.