Behind My Apartment & Beyond

There are/were a bunch of laofangzis (old houses) behind my apartment. Last year I took an hour or two and walked around taking pictures (during which time I got shoved by an old lady and stopped two children from playing with a dirty syringe in the ruins of an old building). The light broke through the crowds a few weeks ago on an otherwise dreary day so I went out there again taking photos.

Much has changed. An entire block of the condemned buildings that were there last year are gone completely while others are still waiting for the bulldozers even as people still live in them. Here I've got a couple of photos from that little walk as well as some freebies from the People's Square area.

 Not a great picture, I know, but can you believe someone is receiving organic milk while all around them is rubble? I didn't even know you could get organic milk delivered here. 

 I think the guy inside the window caught me but...Ha! with my telephoto lens I got you awesome looking elderly man. Chinese old people are so photogenic.

 This picture and the next one are the same just with two different looks. This sugar cane had so much texture and there's a fascinating character or something written on that one in gold. 

It looks very fanciful but I imagine it's the name of whoever grew it.

 I have a compulsion to take pictures of old doors. Just can't help myself.

 Moving out of the old neighborhood to somewhere near People's Square...These guys are named Tweedle Dee & Tweelde Dum but they dress up like Thing One & Thing Two for Halloween.

 Big old metal Chinese doors. Forbidding and photogenic. The emperor is hidden in there somewhere. Do not tell Bernardo Bertolucci

 

I should look up what this says...

The first buds of the cherry blossoms. I love how this turned out. 

It looks like the vine is going to grow right out of the picture.