Today, visiting the company’s second office, in Hangzhou. Quite far from the city center in the newly opened ‘5G Innovation Park‘. Not a lot of people here yet, as it’s still half under construction. Many companies have a huge reception or exhibition area on their first floor, then staff working on the second floor. Or […]
Sunqiao Town (孙桥镇) in Pudong. Only about 15km from the famous towers in Lujiazui (陆家嘴), or 20km from the former French Concession. But here no Starbucks, McDonald’s, Nike or FamilyMart. People wear different brands (meaning: no brands), and more than half of the cars have license plates from other provinces. People without a car rely […]
A friend gave me a peak into a female-only WeChat group for preparing/planning pregnancy, named “Queens” (in Chinese). “It started with only three people, but now we’re over fifty. Not just in Shanghai anymore.” They’re encouraging each other and sharing so many details openly with strangers. “When we fell in love it was so romantic, […]
Interviewed ten young Chinese people for two positions last month at Pimax (designer & copywriter). Nearly all applicants changed jobs or roles last year as companies went bankrupt or downsized due to covid restrictions: “The company doesn’t need a writer now, my manager told me to either leave or become an account manager.” “We used […]
Today, a walk through Shanghai’s Yangpu district (杨浦区, pronounced as Yángpǔ qū). Fuxing Park on Fuxing Island (复兴岛). The park houses ‘白庐’, where Chiang Kai-shek stayed in 1949, before forever leaving Shanghai, and shortly after that mainland China. The interior is totally destroyed to make way for government propaganda. The air conditioner pours out hot […]
When I was in art academy, the vaguest class we had was on concept development (‘workshop activity’, or in Dutch ‘atelier practicum’), and one part of it was just collecting pictures, which we’d then discuss personally with the teacher. This was always on Mondays and the continuous struggle of it is burned in my mind. […]
Strolling near Jinqiao (金桥镇). Pretty sure more people lived here, but they got pushed out by the highway. Ayi is busy planting corn, with more vitality than most people in the office. A shifu is heating some water. (License plate showed they’re from Anhui.) “Forbidden to swim”
I once read the poetic line: “If you like the sea, come to Shanghai and never look at it” Well, today we drove Nanhui New Town Beach (南汇新城海滩) all in the southeast of Shanghai in Lingang (临港). Not sure if this is worthy of the ‘beach’ moniker though. Concrete blocks protect the land against the […]
It’s the first good weather weekend without covid restrictions, in more than a year. The parks and streets of Yangzhou (扬州) fill with people. Dongguan Street (东关街) is 1146 meters long, filled with the smell of fried food from both sides and people everywhere. The cooking installations burst out of homes and onto the streets. […]
I made the trip to some old buildings in the area after a tip from Historic Pudong, to see where the name of the area comes from ~ the contrast between a Ming dynasty pawn shop and today’s high-tech park in Shanghai. Several hundred years ago, a guy named Zhang Jiang (张江) opened a pawn […]
Working in Zhangjiang hi-tech park (张江高科技园区). Our latest portable prototype is missing, everybody panics. We watch the security camera. In the evening it’s charging on the edge of a table, but then falls on the floor as someone bumps against the table. Then in the early morning it’s thrown away by the ayi. The guy […]
