Far From The Bund
The Bund as it is known to foreigners and english speakers around the world is a well known area in Shanghai that not only is host some of the most luxurious boutique shops, hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs but is also home to one of the most recognisable cityscapes in the world which includes The Pearl Tower and The Bottle Opener building.
But away from this place of wealth and far from downtown lies another side to Shanghai that most foreigners who frequent The Bund have never seen. It is the countryside by all accounts but still very much part of Shanghai. Here farmers can be found tending to their crops of vegetables. It is also here that I discovered old buildings long abandoned but it seems that each has its own unique story to tell. Some are completely empty with just dust on the floors remaining but others seem to have been vacated in a hurry with wearable shoes, clothes and personal items left behind. Flashes of my childhood flood my mind as I explore these wallpaper covered rooms and I cannot but help to wonder what I would have captured in my youth if I had discovered photography sooner.
Vast empty plots of land covered with vegetation growing wild combined with all sorts of garbage can also be found. This is in stark contrast to downtown Shanghai which with its tall shiny skyscrapers and many blocks of high rise apartments stacked on top of one another can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic to anyone not used to living in a big modern city.
It is here far from downtown that I have found once again something that I find fascinating and which I present to you.
