We loved these shots that we found on Flickr from a Mr. Craig Allen.  Here’s from his Profile on Flickr:

I spent the 1985-86 school year working as a Foreign Expert teaching English in China. I was 25 years old, and had just graduated from university.   I was teaching at what was then called Jiangsu Institute of Technology (or Zhenjiang Institute of Agricultural Mechanics?), now Jiangsu University (江苏大学).

Sit back and enjoy the shots.  Notice what’s different, notice what’s the same.  The colors are great and each one could tell a story!

Photos used by permission from Mr. Craig Allen. Please click on each photo and head to flickr to see tons more!  He’s converting his old slides into digital shots.  He’s very accessible and would love to chat if you’ve been to these places in China!

(c) Craig Allen.  Shot in Zhenjiang, China in 1986. This is the small daily “free market” on the university campus where I taught English. Such non-state markets were still fairly new at this time, an example of some of the early market reforms in China in the 1980s.

(c) Craig Allen.  Shot in Zhenjiang, China in 1986. This was in the early days of China’s loosening up state control of commerce. This was taken at a small daily “free market”, as it was called, near the entrance of the university.

(c) Craig Allen.  Shot in Zhenjiang, China in 1986.

(c) Craig Allen.  Students on their way to back to their dormatories in the evening. This was shot in 1986 in Zhenjiang, China.

(c) Craig Allen.  Students coming and going from the student canteen. This was shot in 1896 in Zhenjiang, China.

(c) Craig Allen.  Two girls reading comic books at Sports Day. This was shot in Zhenjiang, China in the spring of 1986.

(c) Craig Allen.  The Bund in Shanghai, 1986

(c) Craig Allen.  Nanjing Road on a hot day in 1986

(c) Craig Allen.  Pagoda in need of repair in Suzhou. This was shot in 1986. I don’t know if this pagoda was eventually renovated or if it was pulled down, but those are the only two possibilities.

I visited Zhenjiang years ago also and you can read about my experiences there, here.