Writing on the wall

A stretch of graffiti reminds Shanghai residents of vanishing street scenes before disappearing itself.

The popularity of about a dozen graffiti murals is said to have sped their demise. The irony is French street artist Julien Malland created the scenes on what was left of torn-down buildings on Shanghai's Kangding Road on Jan 20 as a nostalgic depiction of parts of the city that are disappearing. A demolition crew destroyed them within a week. The area's developer said the artworks were drawing large crowds to the dangerous site, local media report. Earlier, residents who had gathered to take photos of the murals said the drawings, many of which portrayed children, brought back memories of the city's past. Newlyweds even used the scenes as backdrops for their pictures. Some residents grumbled that the graffiti lasted such a short time, media report.