In the midst of a city being demolished, life refuses to stop and be arrested. Kashgar is rich with craftsmen of all kinds and to survive they must continue crafting and go on selling.
In the streets of the old city, this old metal craftsman was selling his creations while hammering away at a piece of metal that will become another household tool when he is done.
Photo taken: Lotus fruit seller in Sihanoukville, Cambodia
A main and very appealing element in the intricate canvas representing Shanghai streets is the abundance of street sellers and food stalls. These stalls are interwoven into the fabric of the alleys, streets and neighborhoods of this enigmatic city. You see them everywhere you look and you can smell their fried dumplings, their noodles, their scallion pancakes and their deep fried stinky tofu (it really is called stinky because it is quite overwhelming). Despite efforts from the safety food commission to ban these stalls in the city and force them to adhere to licensing and specific locations and schedules, luckily they continue to mushroom throughout the city adding to the character and charm of this massive metropolis.
I do hope they stay, because forcing something so integral out of a society’s daily life is almost like ripping its essence out and leaving it bare and colorless.
She has to lay her blankets down on the pavement every day, line up her jewelry, her necklaces, her bracelets, one by bone, in straight lines. She organizes by color, by style, every morning and while she waits for her customers of the day she knits for her child, stitch by stitch, line by line. I can only imagine how organized this lady’s mind must be and how lined up her thoughts are.