Shanghai’s old hospital

I decided to enter this art deco building at 505 Dong Changzhi Lu, as it seemed totally deserted when I entered. Inside I discovered it to be be an old seamen’s hospital, built by colonialists in 1934. As I explored more inwards — and just as I sent a photo to my friend — I started to hear dog barks, both from the entrance as well as from the back of the building — echoing through the corridors. “At least she knows where to find me if I’m eaten alive by dogs”, I thought to myself. I turned a corner and saw a dog blocking the path, barking my way. Yet then I saw a person move passed a distant doorway, and it turned out to be the guy who brought water to the dogs. I followed him outside as he chased the dogs away, my heart still racing. Only then did I finish my message to my friend to tell how stunning a place this is.

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Arriving at an emotion

Arriving at an emotion

Before moving to China, I wondered what it’d be like to live in an entirely different environment — and it was the same for holidays like Cambodia or Vietnam, or when Hasse was born. You try to imagine these things and how they’d make you feel, how you’d react, or what they’re like. But everytime […]
April 10, 2026
People of Nantong

People of Nantong

I’m carrying Hasse around in Nantong (南通), in the historical block surrounded by the Haohe River (濠河) — while Eva in the hospital visits a sick relative. Hasse, being a seven month old baby, is a true 显眼包 (eye-catcher), so dozens of bypassers turn their head or want to touch her (which I quickly have […]
April 4, 2026
Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

We’re in  Zhuqiao Village (祝桥镇), again. I love these old streets, filled with market stands or scooters and trikes parked everywhere. These alleys are so full of life, devoid of big brands with their uniform protocols and brand guidelines. And because the whole scale of it is smaller than modern shopping malls, everything feels so […]
March 31, 2026
Forgotten patch of land

Forgotten patch of land

The hardest thing to get in Shanghai is silence and solitude, yet there’s this strip nearby our apartment that does provide these things — a patch of land that city developers had no use for. The first time I came here and entered, suddenly something felt weird until I realized it was the absence of […]
March 27, 2026