Sidewalk Barber Shop

For five renminbi (about 80 cents), you can get your haircut. Yep, right here. Just hop on that work bench, drape one of those sparkling clean towels around your shoulders, and stare out into the street. At five renminbi, it's more expensive than some sidewalk barbers, but clearly the overhead at this location merits a higher price.

Street Scenes

This mobile bakery (the bread is baked in that barrel on the back end of his three-wheeler) sets up shop outside the front gate of my apartment complex.

Next to my apartment complex is a village. Parking space is limited, so the bikes are set upright and locked together. People here are very resourceful!

Home Sweet Pile of Bricks

Dear village, your quaint beauty once charmed us all, but you were standing in the way of progress. We have subways to build, shopping centers to surround the entrances of said subway stations, and you just don’t fit into the city plan. So down you go!

Brick by brick, workers disassemble and carry away the old city and the memories it holds. And despite the aggravation and danger recent years have brought me as I tried to navigate through town amidst this oversized mess, my sacrifice was nothing compared to that of these village dwellers. It was surely hard for long-time residents to say goodbye to their neighbors who have been dispersed to different neighborhoods around the city.

Well, anyway, I can’t take it anymore. I head to the brand new shopping center across the street from the mess pictured above and find temporary respite in a soft sofa and a cup of coffee. Progress…hmmm…maybe it is not so bad after all!