Shanghai’s “Creative” Slaughterhouse

Despite its disturbing name, the slaughterhouse of Shanghai is not to be missed. The former slaughterhouse is a fashionable creative hub in the Hongkou District, with bars, galleries and trendy shops which are on par with the best of Paris and New York. It’s hard to imagine that it was once one of the largest slaughterhouses in East Asia, the only one of its kind still standing today. The slaughterhouse, designed by British master architect Balfours and named 1933 Old Millfun, is an industrial archeological masterpiece - an intricate structure forged out of cement imported from the United Kingdom in the Art Déco style, enriched with magnificent details, numerous reticular windows and circular motifs, combinations of both Western and Oriental styles. It is a sort of maze, reminiscent of Escher, where its central circular structure is linked to the four surrounding buildings by a series of bridges, galleries, narrow spiral stairways and spiral ramps. Over 300 columns in an eclectic Chinese-Gothic style hold up the roof and four verandas. It is a paradise for photographers from around the world.