historical ruin
Chaonei 81 / 朝内81号
It is really time to exorcise this place. I give away the address of this « haunted house » in the title because renovation started at the beginning of 2016 so it is no longer accessible and when it reopens, it will never look the same as before. One of Beijing’s most famous haunted houses This report […]
Xiaonanmen Bell Watch Tower / 小南门警钟楼
In the old city of Shanghai, I visited the Xiaonanmen Bell Tower. The structure of the tower is an interesting mixture of concrete and steel forming an arch: it directly relates to the Eiffel Tower. According to online reports, this Bell Tower was built in 1909 by Shanghai City’s firefighters’ association. It used to be […]
Datong No. 12 Primary School / 大同第十二小学校
Datong is a strange city with a lot of derelict places to explore: residential ruins after demolition, unfinished-abandoned buildings. On the day I found this place, I was looking at demolished ruins in the city center. This used to be a primary school… The slogan says « specialized education » but I could not find information about […]
Toyota Textile Mill / 丰田纺织厂
What a funny coincidence, the Shanghai Auto Show just finished on the same week that I discovered a Toyota-related ruin in the city! I am proud to present to you my latest exploration: the site of the former Toyota Cotton Mill. Actually, I noticed this place last year during a bicycle ride and already I […]
Deserted villages around Kaiping, abandoned diaolou / 开平周围的无人村，荒废的碉楼
If you follow my blog, you know that I like historical ruins a lot, much more than unfinished and abandoned buildings. I also love finding buildings with an interesting architecture, especially the ones combining Chinese and Western architectural styles, such as Republican-era buildings in Beijing and Shanghai. But there are other fascinating forms of mixed-style […]
Shamei Mansion / 沙美大楼
During these last few days in Shanghai, I was riding my bicycle under the rain when I spotted a wonderful abandoned place: a historical building from the 1920s! After a few minutes of online research, I learned more about its past. Shamei Mansion was built from 1918 to 1921 by Atkinson & Dallas Co.ltd. It first carried the name […]
The mysterious tomb of the Lou family / 陆征祥家族墓
I love discovering historical buildings hidden in Beijing, especially the ones that are located out of the old city center, like the former Tsinghua Yuan Railway Station. I thank my friend Wang Kun for randomly posting a picture of this place on Wechat as he passed by it. I went to check the place out […]