After we wrapped up production, I decided i was going to stay in China for an extra 12 days. I wasn't exactly sure where I wanted to go but by the end of the shoot I figured out a game plan. Although I already saw a lot of big cities, I decided to head to Shanghai since it was only a few hours away by train. After a difficult time buying a train ticket, I was on my way!!! (As a side note, China is a somewhat difficult country to travel in due to not only the language barrier but also the fact they use a whole different written language!!! Make sure to get key phases, locations, etc written in characters before trying to buy a train ticket. I had this all written down and still had a hard time)
I love traveling by train and unfortunately this was one of the only train trips I got to take. The train i was on was very clean and pretty fast. After 3 hours I was in Shanghai.
I only stayed in Shanghai for 2 days and both days were pretty overcast but I really liked the city. Honestly its probably because it is much more western then Beijing and felt a lot more manageable then Beijing. I spent my time in Shanghai just wondering around and found some pretty cool markets off the beaten path.
The only downer to Shanghai was all the construction, even worst then other cities. The 2010 World Expo is being held in Shanghai, so there is a massive amount of construction currently going on. The famous "Burd" was all torn up, which was disappointing. Oh well, I'm sure I'll pass through Shanghai again at some point in my life!
Looking towards the Burd
Most of Shanghai's water front looked like this due to all the construction.
Back alleyways in the "old town" section of Shanghai
Shanghai alleyways
The closest thing i saw to "street art."
About 5 minutes away from here are the all the tourist markets... glad i found these first.
There are still a lot of bikes in Shanghai. I'm sure not as many as 10 years ago, but there are still a lot.
and then in total contrast is the worlds fastest train. This thing was pretty remarkable to ride.
Anthony Gilmore, Director / Producer of Play Money. (Changsha)
Anthony and Jared, one of our main subjects. Jared is American but currently works in the RMT industry in china. He also speaks fluent meridian. (Changsha)
That would be myself trying to blend in... isn't working, is it? (Changsha)
This was our production Jeep in Beijing. We got a lot of looks in this thing. The guy who owns this is an American photographer living in Beijing named Mitch Pe Masilun, Check out his 
Chairman Mao, enough said! haha. (Beijing)
HVX200a, Letus, Canon Lenses, Zacuto Support, Marshall Monitor, Kino Flow Diva, Boom, Lav, Sachtler Sticks... this is what our interview set up looked like (Rural Beijing). This was our camera "A" set up....
...and our B-camera was a Canon 5d mkII, which was suppose to keep us low profile, but I guess people in Changsha don't often see red headed foreigners shooting video with a still camera (photo via Anthony's iphone, Thanks Anthony!).
After nearly 10 days in China, this was the first that there was anything remotely close to "magic hour." Great end of the day light does not exist in Beijing.
The best part about having someone with you who speaks Chinese, is being able to eat in small back alley restaurants.
I had some of the best Tofu in China. I've been a vegetarian for over 12 years, so i know my tofu!
The government shut down the entire downtown area (including the metro lines and bus lines) to have a dress rehearsal of their National Day parade (which is Oct 1st). This photo was taken right before I was told that i was "forbidden" to be in that area... oh the irony of the Policeman's choice of words.
A mother and daughter wait for the daily flag ceremony at Tien'man Square.
New army recruits at the Forbidden Palace.
Homeless, Beijing
The one similar trait i noticed between ALL chinese cities was the constant construction.
Oh the driving! I'm not even going to get into it.
No matter how touristy it is, I had to go see the great wall. At least the rain kept some people away.