Qiu Jiang Lu

Recorded July 5, 2009 at 1:17 p.m.

Qiu Jiang Lu is a unique street in Shanghai where you can buy all sorts of used and new electronics equipment. From stereos, cell phones, computers, and porn – anything and everything is for sale. Duscher used to frequent this area quite a bit when he was young to buy ‘punched’ CDs and I.T. related electronics. Although he does not frequent this area as much today, the street has not changed much from what he remembers, save the construction of a new elevated light rail system. He even meets a friend that he used to buy CDs from during our walk.

Photos by Weina Li.

Here is an excerpt from the transcript:

[16:19 Walks to his friends CD stand.] Here, the interesting thing about this ‘Lao Ban’ is that he would suggest music according to who was ‘Red’ (1). For example, recently, Michael Jackson died so the owner would get a lot of Michael Jackson related albums.

Huh? He has started selling pirated now? He always sold real albums here… This classical music CD has the ‘DG’ logo so it should be a good one – but I think it’s pirated. [Photo 4712]

Merchant B: “Huh? Xiao Ren? You’re back?!”

Duscher: “Hi! I am back. What good things do you have today?”

“Oh, good things, good things…”

“Are they all here?”

“Yes. Some are here.”

“Can you recommend a couple to me?”

Merchant B: “Sure. Recommend a couple, huh? For sure we can find some good ones… This one!”

Duscher: “What is this?”

“Jazz.”

“Oh?”

“Toto.”

“Oh.”

“These are all good… and these… all the ones I suggest to you are good. Absolute classics…”

“This one is OJC?” (2)

“Yes! It’s a good quality product. You don’t want it?”

“What is this?”

“This one is good too, uh…Nat King….something.”

“Ha ha. This is why I said this owner knows his stuff. This owner and I have known each other for 5 or 6 years.”

“I will hook you up with something good. How come you’re here today?”

“I used to come here once a week right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mmm…This Radiohead CD is fake right?”

“Mmm, uhh…” [Translator: Zhi Zhi Wu Wu (3)]

“This is a fake isn’t it? I wanted to ask you, I remember buying a couple CDs in your Xu Jia Hui store in 2005 like Radiohead, Blur, and others – would those be fake? Did you have fake ones then?”

[Hesitates] “Not then.”

“No fakes then. That’s good.”

“Nowadays there are a lot of fakes.”

“A lot of fake ones now, Huh? I don’t see you as one of those people that sell fakes. Why did you start selling these?”

“We are old friends, I would never sell these to you.”

“This one, what about this one?”

[Whispers] “This is fake. This one is real.”

“Then I will buy this one.”

“Good. This one is a good one. What are you here for today?”

“Oh. Just to walk around, bringing a friend around.”

“To buy things?”

“Yes.”

“What are you looking for?”

“I haven’t decided what to buy yet. I am just looking around. If I find something I like I will buy it for sure.”

“So what exactly do you want to buy?”

“I was thinking about a computer.”

Merchant B: “Cen Na?! (4) [Tone of disbelief] you have been running around for over a month for this computer.”

Duscher: “What? What do you mean over a month?”

“You bought a computer for 2,000 RMB but actually spent over 6,000 RMB on it.”

“Ha ha!”

“I am one of them and they do the same to me.”

“Give me my change back. You are such a….”

“Ha ha ha.. You only gave me 10.”

“Ha ha.”

“How much did you give me?”

“I gave you 20.”

“20?”

“Yeah”

“10, right?”

“Seriously, I gave 20, I am not lying!”

“20…20…” [Looking for the 20]

“Look for it hard, do you have it?”

“No, there is no 20 here..”

“Oh forget it maybe it was a 10… No 20, huh?”

“Seriously. See? no 20.”

“Then I guess it was a 10…”

“I bought a computer for 1,200 RMB, I have spent over 3,000 on it already and it’s from one of ‘us’ [Vendors]… ‘Cen Na’.”

“So you mean you have taken it in for repair?”

“Yeah. One day it’s the graphics card, or something’s wrong with the inside… There is always something wrong.”

“You know him and he doesn’t repair it for free?”

“Started from 1,000 something, now it’s over 3,000.”

“How are the LP sales here?”

“Oh, not too bad as long as there are people.”

“O.k. see you next time!”

[21:03] [Go into ‘上海虬电子数码商厦’.] We are now in a electronics mall that sells music products. The set up here is different from before. It is different because they used to be all over the place outside – little shops here and there. Now they have been organized. I believe the government organized everyone here. Now it looks like a little market. Each of the vendor’s stalls look like a neatly placed pigeon cage. They still sell the same thing as before. The owners and the things they sell are exactly the same as before. So every time I walk through the door I see a lot of familiar faces. They basically sell a lot of I.T. products here like electronics, cables, etc. I remember I used to see people selling surveillance cameras here. They were the small ones that you can hide in peoples’ bedrooms and spy on them while they are at home. I remember it was a huge deal then. Everyone was looking at the camera. Now I think it is interesting that you can take a camera and spy on other people. I didn’t buy it. One of the reasons was that it was very expensive; and second, because I have no use for it.

Footnotes:

1- ‘Zou Hong’. Someone who is famous or popular.
2- Original Jazz Classics.

3- ‘Zhi Zhi Wu Wu’ is a Cheng Yu (idiom) meaning ‘caught in the act’.
4- In Shanghainese means ‘Fuck’.

4712- CD vendor

4705-

Electronics store. In the front is where you can find the CD vendor.