Posts/March, 2009/

Up on the Rooftop

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
View looking North from our rooftop

View looking North from our rooftop

In one of our many daily emails, Nik mentioned today that he ate lunch on the roof of his building at work. I replied that I wish I had eaten my lunch on the roof, to which he replied, “Is there a roof(top deck) on our building I wonder. It would have a cool view, but I doubt there is one.”

Luckily for him, I am procrastinating today, so I went up to the 37th floor to investigate. As I stepped off the elevator, the hallway looked exactly the same as the 18th floor, but the fire escape door was wide open and daylight was pouring through. I walked up one short flight of stairs to find that there is a rooftop deck. In fact there are two, but that the doors to it had been locked with a dead bolt. The consolation is that the top landing of the stair is enclosed with windows, and the one to the north was completely gone, and the one to the east had been shattered so the views were still impressive!

When Nik gets home we’ll have to go up to see the city at night.

Tuesday in Shanghai

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

ONCE UPON A TUESDAY IN SHANGHAI…

Because he wanted to ride bikes all day with me.

I planned to ride bikes all day.

And I did indeed ride bikes all day. First, I went to the flower market.

And I did indeed ride bikes all day. First, I went to the flower market.

Where there are hundreds of flower stalls.

Where there are hundreds of flower stalls.

Selling hundreds of flowers.

Selling hundreds of flowers.

They sell orchids...

They sell orchid flowers...

And red flowers...

And red carnation flowers...

And long-stems with yellow spheres on top.

And yellow long stem flowers with pom-poms on top.

Outside the flower market, there's a very strange building.

Outside the flower market, there's a very strange building.

That has a Lady Liberty on top???????????????

That has a Lady Liberty on top???

Next I went to the M50 Galleries

Next I went to the M50 Galleries on Moganshan Lu

Where the first gallery was by far my favorite.

Where the Shun Art Gallery was by far my favorite.

There were nice girls working there and hideous leather couches.

The art was clever and beautiful. There were even nice girls working there and hideous leather couches. What's not to love?

I must admit that I was more excited about the sinks than the art.

I must admit that I wasn't very excited about the rest of the galleries. Instead, I was taken by the sinks...

And the cracked wall paint...

And the cracked wall paint...

And the sidewalk planter...

And the sidewalk planter...

And the stair well with the antique light fixture and stacks of doors.

And the stair well with the antique light fixture and stacks of doors.

Next I took my bike for a photo shoot in front of a blue wall, where scribbles aren't allowed.

Next I took my bike for a photo shoot in front of a blue wall, where scribbles aren't allowed.

Mother nature is trying to take this building back.

In the yellow parts, Mother nature is trying to take this building back.

Across the street was this amazing structure which is either in the middle of demolition, or never finished construction. Or both.

Across the street was this amazing structure which is either in the middle of demolition, or never finished construction. Or both.

On the way home, I stopped by the UHA shop. I stopped because I liked the pink mascot, and I discovered that UHA is a chocolate brand. Kind of like Chinese Godiva.

On the way home, I stopped by the UHA shop. I stopped because I liked the pink mascot, and I discovered that UHA is a chocolate brand. Kind of like Chinese Godiva, but cooler.

I also stopped by a pedestrian street filled with food vendors.

I also stopped by a pedestrian street filled with food vendors.

And took a self portrait.

And I took a self portrait.

And finally, I made my way back home and my beau was there. We cooked dinner and lived happily ever after.

THE END

Guilin Park & The Tracks

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
Roof Detail

Roof Detail

Update: I changed the order of the photos and a few captions because they bugged me. Sorry for any confusion!

Tuesday morning, I set out to explore the area south-south-west of our apartment. My specific destination was a small green spot on my map, Guilin Garden. It turns out that Guilin Garden is a small public park that used to be the home of a Shanghai gangster, Huang Jinrong. The walled garden was devastated by the Japanese in the mid-1900’s and then restored and opened to the public in 1988. The elaborate gardens surrounding the main house, which is now a tea house, contain a series of courts with various focal points. In one, a raised and covered wooden pathway flanked with built in benches meanders through heavily landscaped areas and over a stream. In another, an “athletic pavilion” floats in the middle of a large pond. In a third, a large stone-paved court is surrounded by picnic tables where small groups gather to play cards, and in a fourth a flat grass lawn is surrounded by large shade trees. Even mid week, the garden was teaming with people, but there were so many discreet areas that it was easy to find a peaceful place to be alone to read my book, The Good Earth (which by the way is a fantastic book about a Chinese farmer in the early 1900’s). I will certainly return to this park throughout the summer to watch the gardens change as the trees bloom and evolve for the season.

Court transistions

Court transitions

Circular Transistions

Circular Transitions

Card Tables

Card Tables

The Grass is Green

The grass is greener here

Yellow Blooms

Yellow Blooms

The Chinese Gazebo

One of many pavilions

A covered path

A covered path

The tea house

The tea house

Red Doors

Tea House veranda

A garden I wanted to go in...but the security stopped me

A serene pond with the city buildings seen in the distance

Earlier that day, I thought the garden to the left of the canal was Guilin Garden, but the security guard quickly told me I wasn't welcome! Apparently, this one is private.

Earlier that day, I thought the garden to the left of the canal was Guilin Garden, but the security guard quickly told me I wasn't welcome! Apparently, this one is private.

Saturday morning, I talked Nik into exploring the south-south-west area with me. This time we didn’t have a specific destination, but wanted to get as close to the Huangpu river as possible. The thought was that we would see some pretty impressive industrial areas, but what we found were small neighborhoods, construction and markets that line the South Shanghai Railway. We were out for most of the morning, and here is what we saw.

The Tracks

The Tracks

Rust and Green

Rust and Green

A muddy road on the way to the construction site

A muddy road on the way to the construction site

Construction Trucks

Construction Trucks

Earth Mover

Earth Mover

Advertising Stairs

Advertising Stairs

Modern Fossils

Modern Fossils

Crazy tile building with amazing windows

Crazy tile building with amazing windows

The windows

The windows

The grey-scale reality

The grey-scale reality

A concrete wall

A concrete wall

A typical random item store...there's at least one of these every block

A typical random item store...there's at least one of these every block

The lane cafe

The lane cafe

The Bird Shop

The Bird Shop

The beautiful birds in itsy bitsy cages

The beautiful birds in itsy bitsy cages

Green, teal and rust stairs

Green, blue, rust and sunshine

Nik has also done a post about this week, mostly photos of yesterday: Biking, Gaming, Resting, Saturday in Shanghai

Archives for March, 2009
Page 1 of 3123