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My name is Cody Ellingham, I am a photographer and nightcrawler from New Zealand. The aging and ornately beautiful "Shikumen" lane houses were being torn down across Shanghai, and I set out on a mission to capture the historic streets before it was too late.

I have embarked on a project to explore the disappearing communal Shikumen lane houses unique to Shanghai’s oldest districts, as part of my Shanghai Streets series.

More info: codyellingham.com | Instagram | Twitter

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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boi
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the contrast against the enormous city buildings makes it seem fake... amazing!

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In the old days, the city was split into three areas: the French Concession, the International Settlement, and the Laoximen Chinese district. Much of the former French Concession retains a European vibe – the terrace houses and tree-lined avenues could be Barcelona or Paris, but they are not. This is China, with its noisy meat markets, modified electric motorbikes, bundles of live wires dangling from rooftops, humming neon lights and a dense smog reflecting the changing city below. Card games and shops sprawling out onto the street give it a community atmosphere. Nowhere is this more clear than in the lane houses of Shanghai, the oldest type of which are called Shikumen.

The structures, partly inspired by the Chinese ‘Hutong’ style housing of the capital and heavily influenced by French and British colonial and art deco styles, were built in their thousands between the end of the 19th century and World War Two.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Horizon
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would make an amazing poster for wall art!! Love the juxtaposition of old and modern - the neon lights, like a throwback, which it really kind of is - my childhood with these colors. I love that you’re taking these photos! Save the history.

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The name Shikumen comes from the brick or stone gateway at the entrance to these communities. A sophisticated entrance meant a sophisticated family behind it, and it is these lane houses that make Shanghai. Almost all of the original nineteenth-century examples are lost, with the vast majority being post-World War One specimens. But even for these, time is running out.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Chris Miilu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only an electrician could make a serious comment on all the wires strung on these homes. They look like unregulated dangerous wiring, tragic accidents waiting to happen.

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There is a distinct vibe walking through the lane house areas that are still inhabited. You hear the Shanghainese dialect pouring out of windows and many of the older people do not even leave the lane houses, everything they need is in the community. And for anything else, there are men who stand near the notice board who they can pay to go out to run errands. There is a sense of a time slip, which makes the scene of demolition more powerful. Some areas have become gentrified, cleaned up, and made into boutiques, all of which lose the essence of what these places really are.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Janine Randall
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guess there's no preservation for Historic Buildings? Although 1928 is probably not very historical for them

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Chris Miilu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is electrification in Shanghai unregulated? If you want electricity, you can wire your house in a DIY project? This is insane in a crowded street.

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The history of the Shikumen lane houses is what really drew me to them. I remember walking along and seeing the year '1928' engraved above the entrance to a lane house and I reflected on all the things that had happened in the last 90 years. It was as if the lane house had soaked up all of that history into its worn stone walls. If I could only see what it had seen, I thought.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Sterling Williams
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love this one. The roof will dump all the water directly down on the air conditioner !

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I chose to photograph at night because by that time the true story of a building comes alive. In the rawness of daylight, the subtle hints of a place can be washed away but by night the details return and if you look closely you can kind of feel its true essence emerging. I carry my camera gear around me at night and somehow I feel like I can become more closely connected to the buildings when it is dark, there are usually fewer people around and the streetlights and ambiance lends itself to a more evocative scene.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Dianna Slowey-Thomas
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What happens to the people, businesses and families whose homes are being bulldozed for profit? How much are they paid for the loss of their livelihoods, family and community?

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It has been a while since I have been back to Shanghai and I often dream about that city. I have friends who tell me that the old parts of Shanghai in the Laoximen district are continuing to change. Though there are still plenty of the lane houses still standing, the real question is what will happen to the communal aspect of them which is really at the heart of the lane houses. The recent strict lockdowns in Shanghai appear to have left a dent in the culture of Shikumen and urban living in Shanghai. Only time will tell.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Koalamonster
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is that indeed someone's home?? Seems so weird to me. In a place that isn't really that isolated having your doors open like that just strikes me as odd. Honestly it is probably quite nice airflow wise and other than the photographer it doesn't look like many people are out.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Dianna Slowey-Thomas
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

An excellent juxtaposition showing the cold blue lights and stark future on one inside of the wall, almost resembling a prison, with the warm colors and signs of freedom on the outside, soon to be destroyed.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Koalamonster
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It looks kind of like someone hung a large piece of string art on the building on the right and it's just kind of deteriorated and crumbled under its own weight. How can you tell what wires go to what buildings?

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Koalamonster
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Love these doors. I do wonder if they used to have glass or something else when they were first put up. Looks like they were just replaced one at a time which gives it a neat kind of patchwork.

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Miranda Noble
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i love this photo!! it took me a bit of staring to know that those are legs & feet that look so ghostly!! I love this!!

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Photographer Captures Disappearing Shanghai Streets

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Koalamonster
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's a cool garage set up!! I mean, they have to work outside, but if they live behind it they'd have a lot more room in their house, and otherwise I imagine it saves on rent. And with the gate and the doors it's probably pretty secure.

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