Our day began at Factory 5, Shanghai's premiere fixed gear shop.
Since it was pouring rain, we left the bikes at the shop and headed out by foot.
First thing's first: cash. None of the small shops deal with plastic, all exchanges are cash.
Into the rain we went, here's where the merit of tech fabrics shine.
Soup dumplings: the perfect way to start the day in Shanghai.
4 for about $1
Each are rolled by the workers...
Then cooked.
Tyler from Factory 5 is a big dude!
We ate our fill...
... and hopped on the subway.
The Shanghai subway is the largest in the world.
The escalators were packed, but we always took the stairs.
So many transfers for our first destination.
A massive, six-story camera depot.
Medium format?
Hassy!
This place was insane. New, used and all open to bartering.
Some shops were very clean, others were messy.
Some were way out of my budget...
... and others were very affordable.
We left the camera shop and began to wander around by foot.
The rain kept the pollution at bay but all we were thinking about was how bad can it get?
This is a local bike shop.
Where you can get a wheel build or a derailleur adjusted.
Bamboo scaffolding.
More knots, canopy.
Old men and their games.
Believe it or not, fruit is ok to eat.
This was the beginning of the market, a few blocks rich with flora and fauna, to eat.
This is a snakehead. It's an invasive species in the States, brought over by Chinese...
A child plays with catfish and softshell turtles, a turtle raised for food.
Filthy by many's standards but common food transportation.
Market façades.
Transport.
I really love the spacial occupations of cities like Shanghai.
Kebab.
Lonely highrise in a sea of low-density housing.
Grid and temple.
"air quality"
Moving through hallways, down from a rooftop terrace.
Dimly-lit elevator.
Custom bamboo and aluminum pedicab.
In Shanghai, you would wake up to find your building coded for demolition.
Tyler waiting on the subway.
On a Sunday, it wasn't that crowded.
#BladeRunnerShit
News.
Dinner.
We ended our night at Factory 5 with a beer and some bike building....
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By: John Watson
March 24, 2013
By: John Watson
March 24, 2013
Today began our insane trip to Shanghai. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Even after arriving Saturday night, we were all a little unsure of what awaited us in the morning. After woking up bright and early, we all met up with Tyler from Factory 5, who had the day all planned out. The Mission Workshop Shanghai trip had begun…
Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.