"Slaughterhouse"

In Shanghai there is a very particular building. This particular building is large. This particular building has many twists and turns. This particular building is a slaughterhouse (or was a slaughterhouse). Still everybody calls it a slaughterhouse even though it has ceased to be one. I too shall call it a slaughterhouse although it has become a variety of different things. One could call it a shopping mall, another could call it a restaurateur's paradise. But this blog is not about what this building is called. Nor is it about why it is a slaughterhouse. And not even about why it is where it is. It is about what wonders lie inside.

This is an image of the slaughterhouse that is pictured on Google Earth.

This is a diagram of how the slaughterhouse's geometry functions. Here is the answer key.

1. The river used to transport the cattle to the slaughter house.

2. The five story high walls used to store the cattle.

3. The bridges used to transport the cows to their death.

4. The rim where the cattle would receive a stiff knock on the head and then be butchered on the spot.

 

My mission was to take pictures involving the twists and turns of the slaughterhouse.

Does this place remind you guys of a prison cell?

It reminds me of an above-ground labyrinth.

These are the ramps of the slaughterhouse that led cows up all of these years.

Imagine all of those hooves coming clickity, clack, clickity, clack up these ramps to their death.

Another reason I took all of these ramp pictures was because I love all of the ramps in the slaughter house. During the afternoon (2:00) you get an extremely nice light on most of the images.

Billions of cows used to group into this small space in the wall. But now notice how vacant it is.  

On the top floor there is a large glass floor.  

It's funny to see people having a wedding in such a savage place.

Crrrrrrrrkkkkkk uh-oh better walk slo-CRACK!!! AAAHHHhhhhhh! 

This is a tasty French cake place that is under the bridges. Weird. These people are turning the slaughterhouse into a fun zone.

Well there is only so much vacancy I can take in one day. So we went to my favorite place in the slaughterhouse... The Ferrari cafe!!! The Ferrari cafe is awesome because if you get a meal a snack or even just a Coke they let you race on the Formula One simulation (a bunch of fancy seats, a steering wheel and a ps3).

I'm afraid I am only good up to a certain point.

As we exited we saw a motorcycle with a side car. You know the kind that the Nazis rode around with MG42s. The guy was kind enough to let us take a picture in it (even when mom put her foot down in the wrong place and broke his fuel line). He is part of a tour group called...

And guess who the Nazis taxi best?

Wedding couples!!! 

Well I hope you didn’t get this too late.

But still nothing personal you know.

It's probably because of the standardized

tests and all of the switching of classes.

Hope you are doing well

Love, Parker    

P.S. (Pam)

Weddings are a big deal here in Shanghai. I guess in a city of 23 million people, a lot of them get married. We are always running into weddings and wedding photographers. 

A month or so ago, we were at a park with a fountain that “dances” to music. Usually, it's brass band tunes. But that day the loudspeaker started broadcasting wedding music, the fountain leaped into action, and we saw a couple coming across the park in golf carts. They hopped off and got married right in front of it.

Couples especially like taking pictures in front of historic buildings (or at least buildings that look historic). So most of the tourist sites are full of them. The locals don’t usually seem to mind.

If you’re thinking that this place doesn’t look like it belongs in China – you’re right. This is "Thames Town,” a brand-new town outside Shanghai that’s been designed to look like an old town in England. There are also German and Italian towns. They are very strange places, but popular for wedding pictures.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a couple is getting photographed for a real wedding, or just for a fashion magazine. Fashion magazines like the same settings as brides and grooms do (or is it the other way around?). When we see couples being photographed, it’s fun to look for clues to who they really are. Do the bride and groom look happy? Do there seem to be other family members around? How much equipment are the photographers carrying?

Does the couple in the above picture look like they’re really getting married?

See everyone soon!