Biking to the Dust of Fuxing Island
Last weekend in Shanghai was a dusty mixture of bike adventure and doing nothing at all.
Saturday was D.’s birthday. After J and I met he and A. for a the tail end of a noontime brunch, the group set off on a long bike ride. Rather than bike aimlessly, I persuaded everyone to make a Fuxing Island our goal.
If the word “island” conjures us greenery and clear water lapping against isolated shores, be warned that this island was nothing of the sort. All the water around Shanghai is filthy and surrounded by industry. Fuxing island lies at a crook of the Huangpu River as it wraps around the northern edge of Pudong. It’s a small island with one major street that runs down the middle and connects it to the mainland via two small bridges. We expected the island to be industrial, and we were right.
The ride was one of the dustiest yet. Stagnant summer air combined with dusts and smells of rampant construction and greater disrepair of that part of town. The roads were horrible. The buildings were either derelict or abandoned. People looked poorer. Gated industrial compounds had long, cracked roads leading to the river. Chicken were on the street. Everything seemed grimier.
On the plus side, it felt like a part of town foreigners rarely went, especially on bikes. The four of us got a lot of curious looks.
Ah, the beautiful garbage pile at our hotel.
Brick masters.
Tire repair.
Before the trip got going, D. and I needed to get some minor bike repairs. We found a bike store and a patient man patched and straightened my rear wheel and tightened D. and my brakes. Total cost for a patch kit and forty minutes of labor: 10 RMB ($1.4).
While we were waiting, a smiling old lady walked off my feather kicking toy. I had left it on the ground when my bike was inverted, and she must of thought it fair game. I wasn’t going to chase after her.
Electric scooter battery being dismantled. It appears to be a battery of twelve colt batteries.
Some taking a break tea.
Orang shirt in the bike lane.
A worker named Ichibod.
Two studs and a hot chick wait for the light to change. In the background is the Fuxing ferry building (unrelated to Fuxing Island).
Green pedestrian bridge.
Building by the river.
Potted plant delivery.
Open gate to abandoned industrial area.
No people.
We took a quick detour to the enormous Brand Mall in Pudong so that D. could buy Jenga and Uno at a toy store. A few of us got some fast food lunch. I mistakenly ordered a spicy fish sandwich from KFC. Kraft had a large and confusing walled-off promotional area in the middle of the mall.
Searching for Jenga inside the Brand Mall.*
Dominic takes a photo.
Silo ladder.
Tiled tanks of a Texaco color scheme.
Cleat and rope on an abandoned dock.
Three shirtless men bringing some coal downstream.
Their coal.
Hazy industry.
Ferry passengers.*
Man watches the water.*
Tug boat and futuristic haze skyline.
Boats anchored in the middle of the river.
Temporary construction office built from a shipping container.
Intentional cloud mosaic wall?
Cart and flowers.
Roof tiles arranged as paving stones.
Empty room.
Rusted door.
Verdant walkway with unnecessary bamboo supports.
Street chickens and shirtless watermelon man.
Snakes for sale.
Shanties with a big overhead pipe. Shirtless man.
Boats seen from the bridge to Fuxing Island.
D. climbs the bridge for a better shot.*
Power plant, coal style.
Rusty pipes and turquoise wall.
Pipe detail.*
Huge cranes.
An even huger crane!
Industrial dorms.
Little man-killer.
The only main road on Fuxing Island. It looks green, but both sides were industrial.
Gravel storage area.
Lady watching the gravel boats.
Shirtless man stairs at boat.
Shirtless man stairs at gravel.
Man on small wooden boat washes his hands.
J. and the gang.
Me, A., and a dump truck.*
J. on the dustiest road in Shanghai.
Bus and highway.
The spigot of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Park. What the?
Scooter puppy guards the abandoned industrial area.
We made it back into town around 7:30. It was just enough time for a shower before heading to The Flying Elephant for a Russian birthday dinner.
Sunday was a day of rest and MINECRAFT.
6 Comments
Hey, I’ve taken that ferry I think, but haven’t ventured over to Fuxing Island. Just when I think I’ve seen most of what Shanghai has to offer to avid cyclist there’s the buildings with spigots attached to them. Got to see that for myself.
If you’re heading out for any rides in May/June let me know. Been looking for more hardy explorers to ride with.
-tom
May 17th, 2010 at 7:13 pmBiking sounds fun, unfortunately I haven’t been in Shanghai since December. I’m living in San Francisco now.
Hope things are well out there. Have you gone to the Expo?
May 18th, 2010 at 9:39 pmStunning photos. I love all the bright colors – somehow they are both cheerful and haunting all at once.
March 7th, 2011 at 11:09 pmStumbled onto your page here while I was looking for Fuxing Island – not sure what photos I expected to see though definitely not the one ‘Shanties with big overhead pipe’! Anyway, I think it’s still cool to have blogs like yours even though blogs are not that ‘cool’ anymore – thanks for posting – I enjoyed reading it. :-)
March 29th, 2013 at 10:51 pm9 years later and I loved this article, as I explore the area myself. Seems one part of Shanghai that has not, yet, changed so much.
July 21st, 2018 at 7:45 am
looks dusty. also, please fedex that dog to me. thanks!
June 15th, 2009 at 12:36 pm