Old Xindian

On the weekends, I take Reiya on walks to help her take naps, and in doing so I've become very familiar with the narrow lanes that access the old walk-ups that make up most of Xindian.  Chieni tells stories of growing up in the early 80's living in apartments like this, with fields right down the street where you could go and catch tadpoles.  Soon thereafter, all of those fields were also turned into apartment buildings.

New high-rises are being built, but only on the arterials on the edges of the old residential sections.

A rare splash of color among a sea of beige and gray buildings.

Even for newer buildings, zoning codes don't require much in the way of setbacks.

I passed by this open door walking home from work one evening.

I'm not sure why, but people living in older buildings seem to grow more plants than people living in newer apartments.

Moving companies used to paint signs on the wall of their customers' buildings.

A bird's eye view of the walk-ups.