Day One

Image 1

Red Lanterns, Old Town Lijiang, photograph by Andrea Pistolesi, Getty Images. Source.

This is a photograph of traditional hutong family homes in the town of Lijiang, nearly two days’ drive from Shanghai. These hutong are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and therefore are preserved and protected. The hutong and lilong of Shanghai, however, are being demolished at an unprecedented rate to make room for commercial districts and residential high-rise apartments.[1]

Ben Wood, an American architect, was chosen to design Xintiandi, a new shopping and commercial district in Shanghai. Wood says of his design:

"I was quite resourceful. Some preservationists say I was ruthless. . I made openings where openings didn't exist if I thought it would improve the cinematic experience of walking the neighborhood. [Xintiandi is] designed to create plots of land for monuments to corporate power, the global economy." [2]

This image will be the image used for the first day of projection onto the Shanghai World Financial Center, and serves as a reminder of traditional family life in an urban setting. The hope is that viewers will understand on their own the contrast between the preservation of hutong and lilong in Beijing and Lijiang and the indiscriminate demolition of the homes in Shanghai, and the consequences of rapid urbanization within the city itself.

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[1] Louisa Lim. “Shanghai Urban Development: The Future is Now,” December 11, 2006, National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6600367 (accessed March 25, 2011).

[2] Louisa Lim, “Evictions Reflect Dark Side of Shanghai Growth,” December 13, 2006, National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6614046 (accessed March 25, 2011).