M50.

right in iron man's crotch

where sarah works

where the dirty little kids live

so darn cute!

gotcha!

I decided to meet my language partner at her work place area this week. She works in M50, which stands for 50 Moganshan Lu, a block of old textile factory warehouses that have been converted to art and design studios. It was a very run-down part of Shanghai, right along Suzhou Creek, a creek that joins the Huangpu River to the East. It was the dirtiest creek ever, and rows of slums lined the edges of the brown creek. But it was Shanghai, probably closer to the real thing than where we live. First, I always go through the routine of getting lost. I got out of the metro and immediately got disoriented. I think the bums and piss smell momentarily confused me. I called sarah every time i reached a street or juncture, to ask for directions. It was an adventure getting there. First I crossed a busy intersection, then I crossed a convoluted skybridge (where I had to call to ask which direction to go b/c i was to find the creek but the creek intersects the streets at multiple points.) Then I kept going until I came upon the bridge that overlooks the creek. It had just rained and the sky was somewhat clear and it had that nice twilight sky. The air smelled fresh and it was cool and breezy. I came across a little boy wearing a Chinese red silk outfit who was twirling around waiting for his mother. I began to take pictures of him, but he never stood still long enough for a still shot. Finallly he got close enough to me, suddenly noticed I pointed a camera at him, and stood still for me. Snap. Next, I walked past another very derelect house and out came 2 dirty kids, running out and laughing. Ooh, kodak moment! As they ran past me, with their dirty sandals, splashing through the puddles, I shouted, "want to take a picture?" They stopped running, came back towards me, giggled and seemed embarassed, and not knowing how to pose, then stood next to each other, smiled and i snapped a pic. I then showed them the foto on my digital camera and they squealed with delight and ran off. I so adore filthy chinese children! I also wished I had a polaroid camera so i could give them the foto. Next it was time to find sarah. We ended up on opposite sides of the bridge so i had to go all the way up to the next light to cross over. We ate at a famous noodle joint, but i think my Lionhead noodle soup sorta made me sick (or maybe i was just grossed out from the fish parts in the meatball). After that she gave me a tour of M50. It was a short brisk walk from the noodle place to her workplace. We walked alongside the creek and there were tons of graffiti on the walls. I asked her if it was safe to walk at night and despite it seeming comparable to how one would feel walking around Brooklyn at night, she said it was safe. We arrived at M50, and i immediately liked the textile warehouses. Most of the studios were closed but she gave me a tour of the warehouses, and her work office. She works at LabBrand, a marketing company that does marketing research and creation of brand names for different clients. It seemed like a cool place to work, esp in the midst of the art studios there. We then roamed around in the dark warehouses, where horror films could use them for sets. It was actually quite creepy to be honest and if we disappeared no one would know. We started climbing these stairs up to an art studio, and on the way up, there were pictures and paintings of random things. One thing that really stood out was this CREEPY b/w picture of a little girl in a nightgown holding her doll. I saw it just as i was going up the next flight of stairs. Think Blair Witch Project last scene where you are going up the warehouse steps and u find the kids facing the walls and the movie suddenly ends when the camera drops...that was exactly it. We continued along long dark corridors with barred doors and art posters. A few studios seemed to be open still but no one was really in there. We walked past a design studio with real cool bright decor. Strange music was coming from nowhere in this maze of warehouses. I imagined how people used to work in these factories and found what used to be living quarters right next door. We saw strange metal fixtures just outside this one studio where sarah told me everything was made of metal inside. After roaming around, we headed back to the metro and walked past a mile of graffiti-ed walls. These kids got talent. sarah said most of the artists were int'l students and graffiti was illegal. But i thought, how can it be illegal if it's right in public, easy to get to places that go for miles, that cops can easily monitor? Anyhow i was quite impressed and went nuts w my camera. I would like to go back during the daytime to check out the insides of the studios which i'm told spans many floors. What an amazing place. M50 tops one of the most interesting spots in SH. Maybe this time i'll bring a polaroid camera. :)