Faust

Ye who enter...

           Metro got me two blocks away from piao jie. Since no bus stop or metro station is located inside Chinatown, I have to finish the rest of the road on foot.

           Piao jie is a strange place, imagine overdosing an 8 years old kid with growth hormone, and now imagine that kid as a district.
Tall multi-story buildings and apartments that look like a prison from the outside are all you can see when you look up at the sky in this place. Rusty pipes, old air conditioners, windows with iron railings, peeling white paint, and escape ladders, decorated the neighborhood and residents' home.    

          When the population grows so fast that you can't even bother with quality because quantity is way too much of a problem. Though the upper floors are concrete and iron sheets, the ground floor of these buildings are traditional-looking shops made out of wood, glass, and various posts and commercial signs, speaking of which. The number of billboards and signs in this place can put the neon lights of nach in shame, it is impossible to see what lies 100 meters away from you because signs with giant Chinese words written all over them block out all sights. Not to mention the lanterns hanging in the air next to somebody's laundry.

At the edge of piao jie people treat asphalt roads as pavement since cars aren't the most popular choice. Most people travel by bike or bicycles since the road is usually narrow and filled with people, only when you're leaving the district or you if live at the center of piao jie will the automobiles be of any use.
***

I always tried to avoid walking on the streets of Chinatown. From an outsider's perspective, they may think I look apart because I'm Asian. (The Russians had asked me to be their scout in piao jie many times)

But the truth is I look more obvious than a hooker in a monastery. People of Chinatown have known each other for decades, if any families in town have a newborn the whole town will know that within a week. That's why it's so hard for other gangs to place their eyes and ears in town.
It's only been 5 minutes since I entered the place and I can already feel the glances and stares coming from all directions. Some were interested, some hostile, and some skeptical. I've spotted two members of The Qin family following me. (they're literally the only two wearing suits in this town)
I pay them no mind.
            You want me here. Here I am.
                                        ***

            30 minutes later, I'm in the central area of Chinatown.  People in suits and serious clothes became more and more common. The average height of buildings on both sides starts getting higher. Neon signs( still with giant Chinese words on them) replace plastic signs at the frontier of the district. Roads expanded. Cars appeared, and at some point pedestrians starts to move sideways for cars on the asphalt road to pass.
            The last time I was this deep in piao jie was ages ago. Although I've heard many things about the giant jiu lou at the heart of Chinatown, I've never been there before. Not knowing which way to go, I look back and find the two men that have been following me. Even in the midst of well-dressed Chinese, they're still too obvious.
             I casually walk towards them, one tense up and frowns. The other one stands still with a poker face.
             "Would you two gentlemen be so kind to point me in Chen Xiang jiu lou's direction ?"
             They give each other a glance. Then the stoic one speaks.
             "Turn right at the small square up ahead two more blocks and you should see it, it's hard to miss."
             "Thanks a lot."
            After following their direction for five minutes a giant building on a slope catches my eye.
            It looks like a fortress.

            Buildings and buildings, houses and houses stack on top of each other, about seven Storeys high, and five times the width of a normal store in piao jie. From the outside, it looks like the palace from the 'Tang' dynasty and the Osaka castle from Japan combined.
            Wooden balconies, stone walls, kiln brick on gable roofs. High ranks in the Qin family and other powerful individuals are smoking and laughing on the balcony of the fifth floor, the lanterns hanging on the column makes half of their face visible. I can see the wrinkles form with their smiles, and the cocky expression on their faces while they enjoy the view from above.