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ROOTSHOUSE - The swankiest, ratpackyist jazz joint in Guangdong Province

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RootsHouse is the coolest and swankiest place in Shenzhen.  It hosts many jazz bands from around China. In fact, they try to bring in the best acts they can find in any number of genres of music.  Cocktails are reasonably priced. Here is an article I wrote about the place:  https://www.meer.com/en/62330-an-interview-with-moss                                                         {click to enlarge images} A Brief History of Shenzhen   They started building Shenzhen, a tier-one Chinese megacity, 41 years ago, over a fishing village across from Hong Kong. In Wu Xiaobo’s history of China’s economic development over the past 40 years,  China Emerging , Wu points out that Shenzhen’s creation as a Special Economic Zone coincided with Deng Xiao Ping’s decision to open the country up to foreign investment.  Deng followed Zhou Enlai’s belief that rapid modernization and entry into the world market was essential for China to rise again. He expanded the concept of socialism to ensure the continu
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Brown Sugar Jar - it looks and feels like an American Indy Rock Bar, but where are the bands?

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                                                        {click on images to enlarge} In the past, there used to be bands from Hong Kong and Shenzhen which used to play here. Some were excellent, like bands you might see at the Empty Bottle in Chicago or Arlene's Grocery in Manhattan. Mysteriously, the bands stopped appearing, and nobody seems to know why. If you go there on a Friday or Saturday night, you'll find a bar with many choices of inexpensive cocktails and maybe a guy with a guitar and drum machine on stage who will gladly play just about anything while you sing along. (WTF?) I say, go one night for the atmosphere. You can get the address on your Didi app. Brown Sugar Jar.
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Art at OCAT at OCT Loft - Sculptures of mercy and grace

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Here is an article I wrote on some sculpture I saw at OCAT at OCT Loft. OCT Loft has some art, not much, and a lot of coffee houses and three or four music venues (including B-10) https://www.meer.com/en/71783-sculptures-of-mercy-and-change                                                          {click on images to enlarge them} We might be tempted to think that the woman in Xiang Jing’s sculpture  The End  turns her face to the wall and hides it with her hands as a response to the mirror next to her. We might assume the mirror forces her to compare herself with, and she is turning away from, the social expectations of personal beauty which she cannot meet. Yet, it could be that the presence of the mirror is coincidental to her turning to the wall.  It, thus, replicates the image of a grieving woman, reminding us that everything we see is a reflection of light and not reality itself. So, if we feel sympathy or pain, the mirror, as a repeated image, invites us to ask ourselves how a me
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Images of Shenzhen: Sweet Potato Seller

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                                                                            {{click on images to see enlargement}} He parked and is ready to sell, but it is not quite lunch time... I took this photo in an industrial area of Shenzhen far from the city center. The area is called Shiyan. 
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Images from Shenzhen: The Upright Custodian

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I live in Longhua and this custodian is often at the shopping mall near my apartment. I was taken by his straight, military posture and dedication to his job.
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Images of Shenzhen - a guy between two pillars, Hong Kong is in the background (sitting on the dock of the bay)

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Eon Bookstore - at Book City in Shenzhen - the place to go for English books

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  There are not a great many places in Shenzhen where you can get books in English. The best place, by far, is Eon Books, which is located in the Book City complex. Indeed, the only other choice for me (an avid book reader) is to purchase books through jd.com or taobao.com To be candid, you can buy books online for less expensive prices, but I like going to Eon just to see what's there. Often if you purchase online you need to know what you want ahead of time. At Eon you can browse around and see what is available. They really do a nice job of presenting their books. There is a huge selection of children's books and academic books that a teacher at an international school or bilingual school might be able to use. When I taught at a bilingual school, I often came to Eon to get workbooks that I might photocopy worksheets from in English for my English speaking students. As you can see to the left, below, they have a number of places folks can sit and read. They also have a coffee
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