My Weekender is a weekly SmartShanghai column written by changing authors selected from the Shanghai community. According to the various tastes, interests and backgrounds its authors, My Weekender serves as a window into what residents in the city are doing with their time off.

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[My Weekender] with Ting

Going under the skin with Zhou Dan Ting - Feb 01, 08



Ting is a Tattoo artist from Harbin. Together with her partner Dylan Byrne she operates the tattoo parlor "Shanghai Tattoo". Read our previous introduction of Ting and Dylan here.

Assuming there is anyone remaining in Shanghai over the Spring Festival to read this, congratulations, you're infinitely better off than those stranded on a train half way between here and Yunan. So if you're set for the holidays, and have stocked up on enough dumplings and fireworks to see you through, then sit back and read up on what that tattooist with the green mohawk is getting up to.

Tragically in my business most of my weekend will be spent working as the shop opens from midday to midnight. Friday morning my partner, Dylan, will probably fall out of bed after drinking far too much in C's at the Antidote party so I'm sure our first stop will be the Figaro Coffee shop for a little pick-me-up. Then it's time to open the doors at Shanghai Tattoo and draw pictures on customer's skin that will last forever and ever... well as long as they do anyway. Some hot and spicy noodles at my local Mi Fen will be a necessary filler come dinner time and hopefully I can get my pool fix in at Window's Scoreboard and possibly check out Racks too ¨C can't stand the hiphop though! Dylan will probably split and hit LOgO so I'll head over to meet some friends at Weihai Lu 696. A very talented bunch of artists in residence and great people to hang out with.


There's a new Tony & Guy branch on Zizhong Lu, just next door to Shanghai Tattoo so I might drop in there on Saturday. So all I have to think about is what colour to go for, let me see, how about green! Secret Garden in Xintiandi has got some great flowers, I usually get a fresh bunch on Saturday on the way into the shop and then get down to brass tasks with my regular cleaning and sterilizing routine before opening up. For lunch I'll drop into Pizza Marzano, or maybe some Xinjiang food is called for. Paulaner anyone? Simply Thai? You can see the terrible dilemmas thrown up by having a tattoo studio in the middle of Xintiandi. I'll be in the shop all day drawing, listening to some tunes and trying to keep the customers from having too many beers with Dylan. Spicy fish head at Southern Memory will go down a treat after a hard day's work... Hey! Don't knock it till you've tried it. Delicious! For a night out I know Dylan will head to The Shelter where Jason Hodge is playing. I'm at a bit of a loss for where to go since 4Live has closed. Good live music is just so hard to find these days. Live Bar is helping me hold it together and I'll keep my eyes peeled for an STD gig.

Sunday's are always busy at Shanghai Tattoo but I always try to make time in the morning to go to Qipu Lu and pick up some new clothes. I love to buy plain boring clothes and then rip them, burn them or draw on them something to make them more... well, more me! The recent snowstorms in Shanghai really make me miss my home up north so I'll probably go to Dong Bei Ren for some food. I'll fill up on Paigu Dun Doujiao and Liu Rou Duan all washed down with a bottle of Harbin beer or some WanglaoJi. Then I'll swing past Oscars on Taikang Lu or Movie World on Dagu Lu to pick up some movies on the way home or catch a massage at Jade Massage which is also right next door to the shop. All that rushing around should leave me in the mood for a laid back casual evening sitting on the sofa playing with my cat watching a gory horror movie!