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House in the French Concession are of Shanghai

Japanese style housing

Traditional Chinese housing is constructed in blocks where stores are located on the outside of the city block and then alleys lead into the center with apartments off the alley. Often shared kitchens and washing areas are in the alley.

This is older housing that has been renovated and turned into upscale commercial use--especially western restaurants.

Traditional, lower density buildings in the midst of the newer high rises.

Here are older buildings being torn down--hopefully enough of them will be maintained to keep the historic flavor of the central city.

Individual bricks wrapped to be carried by workers.

We recently spent 3 days in Shanghai. It was an interesting contrast after being in Hong Kong for 3 months, since Shanghai is considered a very westernized Chinese city, like Hong Kong.

One of the most striking differences is that Shanghai has maintained more of its colonial/western buildings as well as more of the traditional Chinese housing. This means that its central area has regions of much lower density than Hong Kong. However, as you leave the central, older city, the newer built-up sections are all high rise buildings. Shanghai is also built on a river delta so that it is possible that high rise buildings can't be build just anywhere because of the loose sediments that under lie much of the area.