Comments by "Peter Jacobsen" (@pjacobsen1000) on "Shanghai’s ‘Old West Gate’ neighbourhood emptied for demolition and redevelopment" video.

  1. I recognize most of these alleyways. I used to take visitors for walks through this neighborhood many, many times. Many of the houses are poor quality and not worth preserving, but others are large mansions once owned by wealthy merchants and their families. So many stories will be gone, stories of rich men and their concubines, of common Shanghai people, of Red Guards. You can still see their slogans here and there if you look closely. One house even has a big mural on the wall of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao in profile, but it has since been painted over. It's the end of an era. (Actually, it might have been Engels and not Stalin. It's been 5 years since they painted it)
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  2. That gate is not old, but was put up in the 80s for tourists.
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