O & A in Shanghai - the antique and insect market

Just getting out and about (O&A)  in Shanghai is one of our favourite things to do.  

Some days we simply set ourselves a destination and head off to see what we can find.  With no real plan other than to head in the general direction of our end goal the days are often full hidden gems and surprises!  

Today the destination is the Dongtai Rd Antique market and the nearby insect market (if we can find it!). 

We begin our journey with a quick ferry trip across the Hongpu river and then head west into the old town of Puxi. 

Although an everyday sight all around Shanghai - I never cease to be amazed at the locals and their ability to stack their wears on their tri-carts and peddle it all around Shanghai.  

Not far from the ferry point we enter the "old town" and middle Fangbang Rd - an area that is frequented by tourists and sells all forms of Chinese wares!  Its a lively and colourful spot!  It is also home to the Jing'an Temple and close to a number of the fabric markets. 

Middle Fangbang Rd - with the new Shanghai Tower in the Background

Colourful Chinese Tassels

Local lunch spot 

Chinese Souvenirs 

Toilet time!

For many Chinese nappies are considered an unnecessary and unaffordable expense !  In the older parts of Shanghai it is a common sight to see children going to the toilet in the streets!  To make it all that much easier the children wear crutch-less pants! 

I can't say it is anything I will ever get used to and to make matters worse Taxi drivers also tend to urinate in the street - up against any wall they can find! 

But I digress - lets get back to our walk to Dongtai Rd! 

Along the way - behind the old town - we find an old man making and selling leather belts.  I bargain and buy a lovely black leather belt for $4.  He becomes quite a celebrity making and selling a belt for a foreigner - and all his neighbours come out to see him and heckle him! 

What's in the box?

After an amazing walk through what could easily be called the slums of Shanghai we end up at the insect market - all around are tables and tables of these round boxes......what could be in them? 

My curiosity gets the better of me and I peak in to have a look...........

Sadly my language skills are not quite up to having an in-depth conversation with the local vendors about the boxes and their contents -  but from what we could tell the crickets are raised and sold for fighting.  The men in the markets  stack up the boxes and remove the lids and poke at the crickets - we figured they were trying to see how aggressive they were. 

This is definitely the domain of the male - we are the only women in the market and I wonder if they consider us bad luck?

 The crickets are sold at every stage of their lifecycle.  From larvae up to fully grown! 

Cricket pods - in each one is a living cricket 

Along with crickets the insect market  seems to sell every known species of animal.   We spot birds, dogs, cats, turtles, fish, reptiles even some chipmunks!  



 

Was so hard to leave this little fella behind! 

As a destination it is not for the feint hearted - the smells, the noise and the conditions the animals are kept in is really quite disturbing so we don't dwell too long - and I doubt we will ever return! 

Not far from the insect market we reach the Dongtai Rd Antique market 

Here the vendors sell everything old and Chinese - from Mao ceramic relics, well thumbed copies of Maos "little red book" , old toys, posters, calendars, furniture.......

Some of the furniture  - all very Retro and Art Deco - is stunning -  you could easily spend hours wandering in and out of the alleys and shops .

Bargaining here is fast and furious and is done inside the shops  lest the vendors neighbours learn how much he is willing to sell his wares for!  

As we wander home through the residential streets it is fast approaching evening and the food vendors are preparing for the evening trade.  

Food stalls pop up everywhere in Shanghai - the food markets are lively and colourful with an array or smells - some good - some not so good! 

Often the food looks tempting - but given the heat of the summer days and the dubious food handling practices it is rare for us to try the street food. 

However - the smell of this fried onion bread just got the better of me - so for 2rmb (40 cents)  - I took a gamble and bought some .........it was good and I lived to tell the tale!