Taking a wander along Sock Alley

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Wazi Alley, or Sock Alley, meanders for around 700 meters from south to north along a riverside in Songjiang District. Built more than 500 years ago, the lane used to be decked with hundreds of sock stores humming with the sound of weaving looms.

A temple near the lane, long since demolished, used to house Zhang Daqian, a famous Chinese traditional ink and wash painter who cut his hair and practiced Buddhism to mourn his wife in the temple.

In the 1950s to 60s, houses in the west end of the lane were demolished step by step to make room for a water project and city infrastructure.

Photographer Jiang Huihui records the daily life in the lane through his lens.

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong

Jiang Huihui / Ti Gong