-- Written by Joe Johnson
December 2020 marked a decade since I first stepped foot in China, and I have spent around seven of the last ten years living in Shanghai. Shanghai is known for its colourful international past and its hypermodernity today. Of course, these things are attractive to me and I enjoy soaking in the city’s famous sights, sounds, glitz and glamour, but in my daily life, it has always been the small details that have caught my eyes.
I always loved photography as a hobby, but it has, admittedly, been a while since I took out one of my cameras for the sole purpose of taking photos. However, I still whip out my phone when I see something I’d like to remember. So, the following are some snapshots I’ve taken in Shanghai over the past year or so and the stories that go with them.
Pops of colour | 跳色
Shanghai, along with other major urban centres in China, has its fair share of smoggy days, so its always nice to see pops of colour in the city’s architecture, be it in the form of a yellow line, water pipe, or city bike. I enjoy seeing this contrast and it can provide the focal point for an image.
Light and shadows | 光与影
Along with the smoggy skies comes a lack of direct sunlight. This can lead to rather drab-looking scenes in Shanghai, so it is always pleasant to see bright sunlight and the wonderful shadows that are created. I also like to see the way the city becomes illuminated at night. There are fantastic light shows along the river in the financial district, but there are also more low key lighting setups that catch my eye. Whenever I can, I will try to capture the small details in the shadows and the light of my environment.
Didi | 滴滴
As I’m sure is true of many cities across the world, shared rides using ride-hailing apps have become commonplace. Incredibly, Didi managed to oust Uber from China several years ago, and although some competition exists, the company has become ubiquitous with urban Chinese commuting. Due to work, I’ve ridden in the back of these cars quite a lot in the last two or three years and I still really enjoy just watching the city go by and the different ways my fellow citizens interact with their environments, Whether it is people trudging to work, smoking a cigarette while stretching in the morning sunlight, or pausing for a smoke at the traffic lights, there always seems to be something that entertains my eye here in Shanghai.
Highways | 高架
I spent quite some time commuting from one side of the city to the other. This meant I spent a significant portion of my week stuck in traffic on the many elevated highways that snake through Shanghai. I dreaded these trips, but something always fascinated me when walking beneath these massive structures. Downtown, they are lit up at night with neon lighting that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. There are also elevated walkways that cross the lower portion of the highways on ground level, which provide excellent vantage points from which to observe the city.
Covid-19 | 新冠
It was pretty crazy being in Shanghai at the start of the Covid 19 outbreak. Everything was so uncertain and there was no indication of when things would get better. I found myself visiting the nearest riverside to get air and little bit of nature. I would also meet friends outside closed shopping malls or convenience stores as there wasn’t much open and we needed to socially distance. Still, things are much better here now and I was even lucky enough to be able to undergo major surgery this summer in the comfort of a very modern and very peaceful international hospital here.
Cryptic messages | 晦涩信息
Due to the pandemic, to avoid public transportation, I started riding my electric scooter around the city much more. There are many times I see brilliant and somewhat nonsensical messages in English emblazoned on the front and back of clothes, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can pull out my phone in time to capture them. I wonder whether the wearer is aware of the words on their clothing or if it is akin to Westerners wearing Japanese of Chinese characters on clothes with no clue as to what it says. I like to think that the middle-aged woman wearing the “Dead” coat knew exactly what it meant and was just in a mood that day. I will never know though.
Trash | 垃圾
In the past year or two, Shanghai’s local government has introduced some rather strict recycling policies in order to clean up the city and encourage responsibility in consumption and the subsequent sorting of trash. It’s not uncommon to see piles of plastic and cardboard boxes, takeaway food containers, and tin cans bundled by the roadside or entrance of a housing compound. People also find some inventive ways to reuse trash for new purposes, and then there are just some weird images you see when trash isn’t properly disposed of and gets twisted up.
About the author
Joe Johnson has been working in Shanghai since 2010 and enjoys living in one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Between 2010 and 2014 he spent a lot of time photographing Shanghai around his working commitments, the results of which can be found on his website. Joe currently works in Marketing and Communications in the education industry.
More information: www.Joseph-Johnson.co.uk
