It was a bright sunny afternoon and I wasn’t particularly busy and I thought I’d down Fangbang Lu – one of my favourite cycle rides. My friend and I called in at the flower and bird market first and then in a small electronics market and then parted ways.
There is a community I really like behind the a ntique shops/kiosks – especially KongJia Lane. It has large stone doorways with courtyards behind and a maze of lanes, narrow entrances and washing hanging above.
It is really a lovely friendly community. Recently, sadly I have noticed that they residents are being relocated (who knows where – but it won’t still be Laoximen).
There is something terribly sad about a community being relocated and the houses torn down. It’s not just the buildings which disappear but the sense of community.
Soon there will be very few of these old communities in Shanghai, especially in areas such as Laoximen where land is at a premium.
Cycling around the empty lanes off Fuxing Lu, gives an idea of what the Fangbang Lu community will be like before the buldozers move in. The body remains but soul has died.
These little families are paying the price for the success of the larger family.