Tian Zi Fang
SHANGHAI, CHINA . 2016
Some of the best discoveries are the ones we never planned.
I travelled to Shanghai in 2016 for a corporate portrait assignment, and after the shoot, our hosts kindly introduced us to Tianzifang (田子坊). Hidden within a network of narrow lanes, this former residential neighbourhood has evolved into one of the city's most distinctive creative districts, home to independent cafés, galleries, craft shops and boutique restaurants. Every corner seemed to offer another photograph waiting to be made.
What I enjoyed most wasn't simply its charm, but the character it had managed to preserve. In a city that continues to reinvent itself, Tianzifang feels like a reminder that progress doesn't always require starting over. Sometimes the places we remember most are the ones that find new purpose without forgetting where they began. It's become one of the first places I return to whenever I'm back in Shanghai.
