portrait #2 - in the debris - square # 70

portrait #2 - in the debris, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

An old man in a narrow backstreet in the Zhifu district, in the center of the city, sorts garbage.
photo: mhobbs

portrait #3 - forty winks - square # 69

portrait #3 - forty winks, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A bearded man, asleep in the back of his "biketruck", in a busy "backstreet" in the center of the city.
photo: mhobbs

sunlight - square # 68

sunlight, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A woman sells fruit from her "biketruck" in a "nong tang" (alley) in the Laishan district, east of the city
photo: mhobbs

taxi - square # 67

taxi, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A "motorbike" taxi guy sits in the back of his open air "taxi, waiting for his next 'fare', on a busy street in the center of the city
photo: mhobbs

visible

visible, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A building in the center of the city that has been partly demolished stands deserted, waiting for the "team" of "workers" (usually migrant workers - payed for the job, not for the number of hours worked) to come in and and "bring the building down". This work is done with simple hand tools.
photo: mhobbs

corner store #9 - hutong

corner store #9 - hutong, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A corner store at the intersection of two "nong tang's" (alley's) in the Laishan district, in the east of the city
photo: mhobbs

in the dark - square # 66

in the dark, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A woman prepares a meal at a stall, in a narrow "nong tang" (alley) with only a street light to brighten an otherwise dark restaurant
photo: mhobbs

within

within, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A "biketruck" stands idle by a dark door, leading to the fish market within the "Yan Da" market in the east of the city
photo: mhobbs

seeds - square #65

seeds, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A woman at her "seed" stall in a narrow backstreet in the Zhifu district center of the city
photo: mhobbs

eggs

eggs, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

'Salted' duck eggs sit in a pile at a small market stall in the "Laishan District" in the east of the city.
Salted duck eggs (xían yā dàn) pinyin -are a Chinese preserved food product made by soaking duck eggs in brine ( for several days to several months) or packing each egg in damp salted charcoal. The eggs are sometimes sold covered in a thick layer of salted charcoal paste.
photo:mhobbs

side by side #1

side by side #1, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A woman prepares a meal at a street stall in a "small backstreet" in the Zhifu district close to the center of the city
photo:mhobbs

sunrise - diptych #3

sunrise - diptych #3, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

Sunrise over "Shandong Institute of Business and Technology", in the east of the city, the smokestack burns day and night during the winter months
photo:mhobbs

coca cola - square # 64

coca cola, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

Two young boys share a joke, whilst drinking Coca Cola ("ke kou ke le", translating into "happiness in the mouth". this was later changed to "Shaolin Cola".) from glass bottles, in a small backstreet in the "Zhifu" district in the center of the city.

Its interesting to note that Coca Cola was first introduced into China in 1928, and was the first US company to distribute its products in China after Deng Xiaoping opened the country to foreign investors in 1979. Initially, Coca-Cola imported its products and was only allowed to sell them to foreigners at specially designated retail outlets, such as hotels and Friendship Stores. In 1985 the government permitted the company to sell its products to the Chinese people.
photo:mhobbs

bread man - square # 63

bread man, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A man stands at the counter of his small "bread and cake" stall at a market in the center of the city
photo: mhobbs

old man on bike - holga #4

old man on bike - holga #4, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

An old man rides his bicycle along a small backstreet in the "Zhifu" district in the north of the city, with a small store in the background.
photo: mhobbs

afternoon - diptych #2

afternoon - diptych #2, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

In a narrow "nong tang" (alley) in a "hutong neighborhood" in the center of the city, two towels hang-out to dry in the bitter cold of the afternoon.
photo: mhobbs

makeshift

makeshift, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A group of people sit "camped" by a makeshift store near a "hutong" (traditional Chinese alley dwelling) neighborhood, in the shadow of an apartment building
photo: mhobbs

dusk - diptych #1

dusk - diptych #1, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

Busy street market in the center of the city

"Origin: 1615–25; < LL diptycha writing tablet with two leaves < Gk díptycha, neut. pl. of díptychos folded together, equiv. to di- di-1 + -ptychos, verbid of ptýssein to fold]"
photo: mhobbs

futile

futile, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

A red and yellow "post modern" hoarding for a new apartment/department store in the center of the city
photo: mhobbs

corner store #8 - butcher

corner store #8 - butcher, originally uploaded by china.sixty4.

In a small backstreet near a "hutong" neighborhood in the center of the city, a small "corner butcher shop" is open to the cold winter air
photo: mhobbs