Nature Photographer in Shanghai, Camera in Hand
Earlier this year, in March, I traveled to Shanghai, China, for work—and I brought my camera and a travel lens, staying a few extra days to explore. What I witnessed on that trip was unforgettable, though perhaps not what you’d expect. Shanghai felt a lot like the 1950s in the United States—if that era had smartphones, bullet trains, and EVs.
The Urban Canyon
Not only does Shanghai Tower have the world's tallest observation deck at 1,844 feet, it also has some of the best views of this amazing city. I traveled up to the tippy top of this tower and was blown away to see just how vast an expansive Shanghai is.
Looking north west I could see the rooftop of Oriental Pearl Tower which was once the tallest structure in China (not just Shanghai). Not only does that tower contain a revolving restaurant, but it has a 20 room hotel along with an indoor roller coaster. Yet fast forward about thirty years and it now looks like a toy from the current tallest tower in China.
As I followed the Huangpu River to the north I found myself focusing on Jin Mao Tower. Unfortunately with the way the observation deck is laid out this is a surprisingly difficult building to photograph. However with a little patience and perseverance I was able to capture this tower's older looking aesthetic in the middle of modern day Shanghai.
Something else that struck me was just how few cars were on the road. Now, granted, this was around 10am on a Saturday. However in general on my trip I noticed the traffic was manageable and even as I walked around the city it didn't feel overbearing as most cars are electric and are far quieter than a traditional internal combustion engine.
Looking out to the north east was Shanghai's second tallest building, Shanghai World Financial Center which is actually the world's tallest building with a hole. From this vantage point I see a variety of ships traveling on the Huangpu River towards the East China Sea.
In addition to those ships I also noticed how dirty the river appeared. As it turns out, this river is classified between a Class III and Class V on China's five-class water quality scale, with Class V being the worst. This river is the main water source in Shanghai and supplies 80% of the cities daily water usage. Perhaps this is why I really only drank bottled water while in the city? Regardless this is a sobering reminder of the need for stronger environmental regulations.
An Architectural Feast
While the view from Shanghai Tower's observation deck was spectacular that also only gave a zoomed out perspective on the city. As I looked around I could see a number of thoughtfully designed structures coexisting almost like the Aspens or Rocky Mountain Pines back home.
However where would I be without a transition photo? With the equipment I had with me it would have been impossible to capture the entirety of Shanghai Tower at street level. So instead of messing with a panorama I turned out and tried my best to capture the mesmerizing spiral in greater detail than I could get further away.
Making my way across the sidewalk and looking towards the Oriental Pearl Tower I snapped a photo of a mostly empty street. The observant readers are also probably wondering where that TV tower is in this photo, well, it's behind some of those buildings. Shanghai at ground level can feel overwhelming at times and yet in this moment I felt a sense of calm and serenity.
Going back in time by a few days I managed to capture some of my favorite photos of Shanghai's architecture. As I took a break from work I went outside to snap some pictures of my surroundings. Seeing some of the company names on the neighboring builds (Tencent for example) made me feel like I was in the tech center of the city. Was I actually? I have no idea.
Something I did know though was there were these strange bridges that covered entire city blocks. Despite it being relatively sunny out there was no shortage of shade.
I would learn moments later that this was actually a large pedestrian walkway that was open to the public. Along with connecting a number of buildings together and removing the need to cross the streets below, they also had a variety of restaurants and just general green space.
Yet my favorite photos of this area ended up being from street level. I still cannot believe that this photo is in color, yeah, that's how it looked in real life. The architecture of Shanghai is simply spectacular, and given I've taken the architectural river boat tour in Chicago, I think that makes me qualified to state that fact.
It's not just beautiful during the day though. At night many of the buildings would light up and add an extra level of awe to my trip. Unfortunately I just couldn't manage to capture that awe through my camera and so the only photo I got at night that I'm proud to share is the one above. Even still I have some gripes about it, for example some of the floors still had their office lights on so instead of a beautiful black silhouette if you look carefully you might be able to see some folks still hard at work from 20 or 30 floors above.
Allegedly these bamboo stalks were capable of moving according to my hotel's concierge. Unfortunately I never witnessed these moving while I was there, perhaps the weather wasn't cooperating. Nonetheless I still can't help but share this closeup because it's freaking bamboo (fake bamboo) that is on the outside of a building which looks normal at first or second glance. Only after taking a closer look and getting this close-up did I make the connection.
It's The People
A cities location and architecture are only a small part of what make up a city and Shanghai was no different. I am not here to write a love letter about Shanghai because of the cities architecture. I'm here to write that love letter because of the people that make the city so great.
That same hotel concierge who told me about the moving bamboo on the side of that building also talked with me for fifteen minutes about photography. He noticed the camera I was carrying and struck up a conversation as he was also into it. I had a chance to share some photos from my recent trip to Yellowstone and gave me some pointers for where to go in the city to practice street photography. There is zero chance I would have captured any of these photos had it not been for their kindness.
One of the places I had to visit was Yu Garden. I already planned to come here as it was close to the hotel and if you look up any article about traveling to Shanghai it will tell you to stop there. This is going to be a little controversial and perhaps in time I'll change my mind, but I wasn't that impressed. The area was overcrowded and I got into a brief argument with a security guard because of our language barrier – I had a ticket to enter Yu Garden and he was guarding the entrance to an event which was just outside of it – so they rightfully told me I had to pay to enter and I turned around and found the actual entrance which accepted my prepaid ticket.
This was the only photo I've finished editing inside of Yu Garden. I need to go back and look through the others I captured but at least in my first few reviews of the trip, this was only photo I guess I liked.
I think the reason I gravitated towards this photo was because it made me stop to think about what I knew about the country. I pictured everyone being overworked and yet while I was out and about I'd see people who simply worked on maintaining these spaces for others to enjoy. Does this man's job seem difficult? Yeah, I can't imagine dusting and cleaning buildings that are older than entire nations. However he was one of dozens of people I encountered keeping Yu Garden maintained.
Outside of this area I saw many others sweeping the streets which was quite a bit different than what I'm used to seeing in the United States. For the most part it's up to the individual to leave the place better than they found it and for the most part we just don't do that.
Just outside of the garden is a shopping center to pick up candy, souvenirs, and partake in good old fashioned consumerism. Yet I was still captivated enough to take photos as I meandered around. I can't say I know what that vendor was selling but I loved how vibrant their signage was.
Now, I did know what this person was selling, and regrettably I didn't purchase any of their artwork. Part of me was still getting over my fear of taking candid photos of folks in public and another part of me was surprised to see Steve Jobs in that collage of people.
Yes, even in Shanghai there are homeless individuals. I think this was the first person I saw who was panhandling and so I took a seat against a building to observe them and others passing by. It was in this regard that Shanghai felt like any other major city I've been to. Some folks would drop spare change into the man's bucket while many others walked past the man without acknowledging his existence.
Shortly after taking this photo I had some run-ins with less honest individuals. Most of them were simply trying to sell me stuff, but others wanted me to follow them back to some location to partake in some illegal activities. What can I say, it's just like any other major cities popular tourist destination. I did make one of them laugh though, they asked me where I was from and without missing a beat I told them "here". For some reason they didn't believe me.
I decided it was time to leave that area and starting heading towards Nanjing Road which is one of China's best commercial centers. It's the Magnificent Mile or Fifth Avenue of Shanghai. On my way though I came across this gentleman sitting on the curb. It was yet another situation that hit close to home, someone having a tough day while others go on with whatever it is they have going on.
I set out to walk along Nanjing near golden hour. This is where I was told I would be able to do the most people watching and while I cannot confirm this having only been to China once, it also did not disappoint. These photos won't be in chronological order, for example the above photo was one of the last photos I took my trip as I looked back at the buildings I just spent hours walking in-between.
In hindsight this feels weird, but folks living in Shanghai are mostly normal. Cut me a little slack though, this was my first time trip outside of North America and based on everything I heard about this country I did not expect to see people dancing in the streets or angsty looking teenagers.
While I didn't capture photos inside of the building, there is a massive video game mall on this road. It was about six floors and they had video games, trading card games, anime, and honestly my thirteen year old self would have spent an entire weekend in that one building alone.
It wasn't just about people watching on the main road though. I found myself eager to see what was down the next side street. There were a number of street food vendors in this area but this one in particular caught my eye from the unbelievable amount of steam rising their food. I actually passed by that vendor without snapping a photo the first time and on my way back to the hotel I decided I needed to capture it.
It was down another side street that I got a clue into why the traffic wasn't so bad. The people of Shanghai ride their bikes, a lot. While I can't say definitively that this is a true statement, the sheer number of unattended bikes I came across on my walk makes me think there's some truth to that statement.
They also enjoy smoking, or at least I ran into more smokers here than I have in recent years in the United States. While I'm not a smoker myself, I will admit that it can make for some really interesting subjects.
I didn't notice the no smoking sign until I got home but this also wasn't surprising to see. Despite all of the cameras around the city I still ran into folks disregarding some of the rules. As I met with coworkers they were also quite open in what they would speak about, which again, is very normal, yet I didn't expect that in China.
Towards the end of golden hour in Shanghai I found myself back at the beginning of Nanjing Road. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago I was looking at the rooftop of that TV Tower. However the next morning I had nearly 17 hours of travel and so it was time to head back to my hotel.
On the way back I got another picture of The Shanghai Tower. Unfortunately this photo doesn't do it justice, much like the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, you kind of have to see it to believe it.
Visiting Shanghai was life-changing. In just a week, I barely scratched the surface of what this city offers. Back home, I hear China described as the surveillance capital of the world—but I didn’t feel watched in any heavier way than I do at home. The difference? In Shanghai, the cameras were visible.
Gear Used
If you are interested in purchasing any of the gear I used on this trip while also supporting my work as a photographer feel free to purchase them through my affiliate links below.
Camera: Sony A7R5
Lens: Tamron 28-200 f/2.8-5.6