Yesterday was a biting cold but also very beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine here in Shanghai. I biked out into my neighbourhood again and this time chose the eastern parts of Xujing, near the metro station East Xujing. This area is mostly fields and industries, but new residential complexes are popping up. So there is a lot of construction work going on.

I let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy

So what do I do? I go anyway. Of course! Because I know how intriguing Shanghai can look in foggy, rainy weather. I also know that there are plenty of public toilets around, should I need one

Here are a couple of pictures. Enjoy

Tomorrow Square with raindrops falling on the camera lens.

Thumbs up for green light.

Shanghai, we soon have a lift-off.

Lady in pinkish purple was standing on the pedestrian bridge for a long time, happily chatting away on her phone – in the middle of the pouring rain.

Different shades of grey. I found it kind of cute that the fountain was turned on in this weather.

Well I don’t know what to say about this picture really, except that I like it. That multitude of white birds in the trees … comforting or menacing?

Small rainbow against greyishness.

Red lanterns and a cheery tune. Just what you need on a day like this.

Last shot this day, taken through the car window, going home.

Enjoy

Little doggy. Curious and actually quite eager to be photographed.

Greenhouse, earth and sky.

View from a bridge.

View from a road onto other roads. And water.

Resting boat.

In a couple of months, these fields will be even greener.

Stilleben with old bridge, sky and power line. Kind of powerful, me thinks.

Somebody must be missing a slipper.

Well, well. All is well that ends well. Or something like that.

Even if it was crowded, we had a lovely time at the West Lake. It is a very beautiful place, and I think we will go back in spring.

Enjoy my pictures

Beautiful shades of blue.

My little Panasonic is actually very talented when it comes to taking pics under impossible light conditions

I get happy every time I look at this picture. Mom and son are so cute posing for the camera!

Sightseeing boat arriving to the shore.

Sometimes I just get lucky while photographing. I mean, look at how the dad in this picture seems to grow out of the tree. If I had taken the picture two seconds later, it would probably have been a nice picture, but not quite as intriguing.

These girls asked this guy (whom they didn’t know) to take their picture. Of course he obliged. I like the girls poses, but also his

This guy actually got in my way when I was taking a picture. But that made it so much better, because he fits right in, doesn’t he? I like his proud pose, he seems to know he and the pagoda, water, sky and mountains fit so well together.

Pretty photo op.

Red, blue, white.

Some quiet time in the park next to the sea front.

Very well fed cats.

Studying the gold fish in the pont. The gold fish were very well-fed too, I have to say.

Here are a bunch of pics that fits the theme “slightly uneasy”. The first one is my very favourite, but I like the other ones too (otherwise I wouldn’t have posted them here, duh!).

Enjoy

Chaos and order. (And notice how the ship to the left resembles a spy … like a periscope, discreetly peering at us). Photo taken outside Cool Docks, Shanghai.

Mixed messages. (Photo taken in my hometown of Lund, Sweden)

Here you shall sit and enjoy the ambiance. Another picture from Lund.

Sledge-hammer action in Lund. 

Deserted old bank building, Shanghai.

Same deserted bankbuilding, Shanghai.

At Cao’An Wet Market, Shanghai.

Today me and a friend took a stroll through a different part of the old city – a part that showed us how Shanghai used to look like “in the good old days”. This neighbourhood is quite run down, and up for demolishing. But – as one of the locals told us – the government doesn’t have the means to tear all of it down, because if they do, they are obligated to give the residents new apartments somewhere else – and that would mean giving A LOT of people new homes at one time.

Meanwhile, life goes on in a very vibrant way in this small corner of Shanghai.

Enjoy my pictures

Lots of veggies being sold and bought … especialla now when the Chines New Year is upon us …

… and why not some sausages, to add to the festive mood?

Granny going home with her greens.

Just your average guy with a turtle.

Well I’m sure this will be delicious once it is … finished.

Plastic chair. Somewhere.

Pondering life’s great mysteries. Or maybe why the price of eggs went up again.

Before going home, I took a short walk in the area surrounding Yu Garden. Nothing “special” there, just ordinary Shanghai life with everyday people. For me, just as interesting.

Enjoy my pictures

Oldish and newish.

Roofs reaching for the sky.

Uh-oh. Wouldn’t want to mess with these guys…

Proud grandma

A room with a view.

Enjoying the paper and the sun.

Ahhh. The classical Shanghai pyjama for outdoor use. Albeit without Hello Kitty. But I guess HK isn’t really a guy thing…

Waiting. It seems.

Granny quietly crocheting away.

Phoning in between phones.

After about two hours, I was really cold and somewhat disappointed. I hadn’t being able to shoot any pictures that made me feel “wow!”

But…when I came home, and went through the photos, I realized that there were some I really liked after all. And some of these even formed a theme – namely “Colours”.

Here are the pictures, for you to see. Enjoy

The last picture kind of sticks out from the rest. Focus is not on one, bright colour – it is more about colour shades…

Enjoy my pictures.

EDIT: when thinking about, the picture below doesn’t really fit in with the rest, in terms of ambience. It kind of tells a different story. (Also, it is not taken IN the “enchanted forest” itself. I shot it while leaving the parking lot.) But…I chose to publish it here anyway, because…well, just because I like it.

Ohhhh…what can I say. I’m a sucker for eeriness. And lucky for me, there’s a lot of that to be had here in Shanghai.