We’re in Zhuchuan (株川村), a small yet one of the most intact old villages we’ve ever visited in Zhejiang. The village is three hundred years old, and is really not much more than six ever-expanding rows of houses, set like an auditorium. But everything fits so perfectly together. Many houses can be entered from the […]
We’re in Heqiao (河桥镇), a village in Eastern Zhejiang. Technically, it’s still part of Hangzhou, but it’s so far out it’s much nearer to Anhui. It’s a stunning old village. There are some newly built attractions aimed at attracing new crowds, but they are rusty and closed. Everyone here is coming for the old buildings. […]
Where does the name Shanghai (上海) come from? The simple answer is that it means “Above the sea”, but a better theory points to this place. There used to be two rivers, both tributaries of the Wusong River: Shanghai Pu (上海浦) and Xiahai Pu (下海浦), basically meaning Up the Sea River and Down the Sea […]
We’re visiting Zhouzhuang (周庄) near Suzhou. It’s a 5A attraction so I know I’m warned about the crowds, but on photos, it does look like a very nice Watertown, with original old buildings rather than cheap recreations. The historical village center is a gated off area, with hotels and restaurants build around it. The entrance […]
We’re visiting Dahong Village (大洪村), on the outskirts of Shanghai. The village belongs to Chuansha (川沙) in Pudong, but it’s its own entity — although soon to be swallowed up by new constructions. On Xiaohongshu, we found some photos of the Wu Family’s Old House (吴家老宅), and usually, that means there are more old buildings […]
As we start our little walk in Xiasha (下沙镇), a shushu standing in a doorway warns us it’s not as interesting here as it looks on Douyin: “Maybe in the 70s or 80s it was pretty here. But not anymore.” He uses the word 蹩脚, which means rubbish in Shanghai-hua: “Now, only the residential area […]
Lishu Village (蠡墅镇) in Suzhou is several hundred years old, although rumours of its name trace back two millennia. Warlords and rich merchants used to live here, their houses and courtyards built by eunichs, their money and trade earned in Suzhou. I don’t think this place has the refined attraction of Suzhou water towns like […]
杨思镇 (Yangsi Town) is described as a ‘城中村’ (a village within the city) and it’s an apt description. It’s an oddly shaped block of old and low, rickety buildings — on the east side of the Huangpu in Shanghai’s Pudong district, hunched against the small Yangsigang River (杨思港). Once you enter the area, you really […]
I am not sure, which or who changes faster; cities or people. Cities never change all at once, but rather block by block. This is how cities keep their character, although they constantly evolve. And maybe people aren’t so different. People say Shanghai changes so fast, but its DNA hasn’t changed in over 150 years. […]
The hustle and bustle (烟火气) at this market in Chuansha (十八铺菜市场). One of my favorite places in Shanghai. Here are photos from a year ago, and here from half a year ago. Going home with a ton of vegetables and a cow-tongue biscuit (牛舌饼).