[bivouacrecording] Fangbang Lu Antiques Market

[Sounds of Shanghai] Recorded on May 22, 2009. The Fangbang Lu Antiques market is located just at the West Gate of Fangbang Lu. The indoor market houses many small shops where you can buy jade, wood carvings, brass objects, and old memorabilia. The shops of the two story main space usually have a chaotic jumble of objects for you to dig through. However, if you make a left as you enter, cross an alleyway into another building, these shops mostly feature more artistic selections, showing only a few objects per store. You can find beautiful ceramics, stones, and wood carved objects in this area of the market.

I recorded this as I walked through the main space. It was early Friday afternoon, and business was slow as tourists and locals were out finishing lunch. Some of the shop owners were playing exciting card games or relaxing in the narrow corridors between the stores; some people were preparing for the afternoon tourist rush, and some stores were closed- altogether creating this interesting live/dead dynamic within the space. The recording starts lively, then gradually gets quieter, and ending just as lively.