Letting yourself drift in the city on the weekend is one of the great pastimes. The shops are open on Sundays, you can stroll through the parks and neighborhoods and look and look. For years I have only been taking photos with my mobile phone because it is so practical and handy and the quality of the photos convinced me. When I went to China, I deliberately left my SLR camera at home because every kilogram of luggage was important. Here in Shanghai, however, I feel like buying a new camera. With good lenses there are undreamt-of design possibilities. The aesthetics of the city can only be seen at second glance. It is a mixture of traces of the past, luxury and a latent depth that shows itself in some parts of the city, for example in seemingly monstrous buildings like the Broadway Mansions, whose brick mountains radiate something totalitarian and somehow reminds of Gotham City or Metropolis, above all with the Waibaidu Bridge in front of it. Or you get into the almost jungle-like maze of alleys and corridors in the Tanziafang district with its cables and basement windows that have probably never been cleaned, with dark entrances in which you can still guess a narrow, steep wooden staircase inside, with the exoticism of the Chinese characters and colors. Or you can discover long-established shops between Nanjing Road and Wuhaihai Road that exude a touch of unapproachable luxury and tradition. It's an impressive whole and at some point you notice that the city has its very own character.
Many Chinese people carry expensive cameras with them on Sundays and one wonders whether, for example, the Hasselblad, which a perfectly dressed man wears around the neck, is a luxurious fashion accessory or whether he really takes pictures with it. Probably both. I am also always amazed at how well many Shanghai people dress. Their appearance is well thought out down to the last detail. The Sunday stroll is self-expression, you show your style and the city becomes a catwalk. The young people are brave and elegant and like to be photographed in their exhibitionism, you constantly see beautiful young people taking photos of each other. The city offers an excellent backdrop for this. The international fashion scene has also become aware of Shanghai and the city has become the location for the most important fashion shows alongside Milan and Paris, which is not surprising when you look at the amount of luxury fashion stores in the city. Yesterday my walk was from the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Museum towards Julu Road through Yongkang Road and Shanxi Road as well as some other streets in this area. It was a glorious day in late December, with the light and warmth of the deep winter sun.
Empire Mansions, Middle Wuhaihai Road
Fenyang Road/ Fuxing Road
Arts & Crafts Museum, built in 1905 as the residence of the Director of the Chamber of Commerce in the French Concession.
In the Arts & Crafts Museum you can see traditional Chinese handicrafts, paper cuttings, lantern production, jade carvings, Chinese pottery, silk embroidery, etc. You can watch craftsmen at work, but it is not particularly didactic.
You should have a town house like this, quiet, sunny, spacious, roof terrace. These townhouses are behind the Shanghai Symphony Hall. I would be interested in real estate prices in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Yongkang Road/Xiangyang Road
Jiashan Road
Shanxi Road (S)
Julu Road
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