An old man engaged in recycling drives on a tricycle loaded with cardboard and other recyclables along a street, which is very dark due to the shade of the trees and the overcast weather.

622 Julu Rd. Shanghai

Shanghai's greening department does everything possible to plant tall street trees on all streets (except demolished neighbourhoods) for the purpose of their administrative performance, although many streets, especially their pavements, are very narrow. But even if the roots of the trees destroy the pavements or the branches of the trees block or even pierce the windows of the buildings along the streets, the greening department absolutely forbids anyone to do anything about it, and anyone who does so will be heavily fined. Because every tree, every inch of greening, refers to the performance of the department, and is the reason for it to declare its budget and receive financial resources. Unless coordinated by a higher level department, the greening department does not concede a single inch of green.

As a result, many streets in the city are shaded from the sun. Even on a sunny day, the streets are very dim; if it is an overcast day like this, the day is little different from the night. For a street photographer, duiring the day, many of Shanghai's streets are difficult to photograph in a way that is pleasing to the eye in terms of light and shadow.

The light from the shop and the teahouse (flic.kr/p/2p1pJLE) across the street saved this photo. Otherwise, I would have had a dark shadow that could not be distinguished from the background.

Done