On the other side of the Huangpu River, where the other outing with Drawing Shanghai was on the previous Saturday, is another fantastic example of the Shanghai government’s effort to redevelop areas that have been abandoned or neglected from closed down factories. What used to be polluted river fronts, now showcases footpaths, cycling paths, jogging paths, patches of parks and new developments to inject life into these remote locations. Weekends now see local population visiting these places, taking note of new developments in their city.
So on this Saturday in November, our group of urban sketchers descended to the area near the former National Cotton Mill No. 9. It is actually a rundown old structure which is of course, off limits. The waterfront is actually quite a busy one with docked tugboats, in between loading and unloading cargoes or passengers. Most of these carry loads to and from neighbouring provinces using the rivers as the routes.
A warm day that was perfect for sketching. And I ended up staying until the afternoon to do some more sketches, something I have not done before. A fellow sketcher and I ordered lunch delivered to the docks and made a picnic out of the outing.
I also discovered more of the area as we walked to the subway station. An area I would hardly go to but caught me by surprise to see all the changes that has happened.
Thank you for reading.
