JIanyeli renovation project

My research paper is on the reconstruction/deconstruction of Shanghai's historic architecture. After several months of research, I've come to see how many issues are involved that go beyond the aesthetics of architecture: economic development, urban planning, politics, social spaces, citizens' rights, city image, etc. Being able to witness all of this firsthand has been extremely valuable.

I cam across an interesting case study of Jianyeli the other day. I pass by this neighborhood--or rather, construction lot walled off with Expo propaganda signs--every day on the way home from work. Like so many other renovation projects in Shanghai, this used to be an old shikumen neighborhood that was way overcrowded...and in a good city location. The residents were relocated and all the buildings knocked down. New buildings are being built that will, according to the giant posters, "restore Shikumen to its natural beauty". Population density will be lower, living conditions will be nicer, people will make money. Very typical story.

But until I read this study, I wasn't aware of how 不合理, or inappropriate, resident relocation can be. I am well aware of the stories of "nail houses", where residents refuse to leave their homes because of inadequate compensation and the developers end up dragging them away and bulldozing their houses down. Still, I was surprised at the underhanded methods the Xuhui district displacement company used to get rid of residents. The company had apparently run out of money for displacement and many stubborn residents were still living in their apartments. So the company hired 200 migrant workers to help get rid of them.

"The population of the lilong then divided into three groups: the recalcitrant residents, the workers carrying out the demolition, and the employees of the hoodlum company. The task of the latter, who earn a good salary—50 yuan a day—was for the time being to make the residents' life impossible by frightening and mistreating them."

The migrant workers were instructed to make noises and disturbances and generally bother the residents as much as possible. Many of the residents ended up moving out, after which the "hoodlum company" began to vandalize, steal and get violent. The district mayor met with the residents to hear their complaints, but did nothing to stop the displacement company.

The end of the story is clear when you see Jianyeli--the neighborhood is gone. Somewhere in the suburbs of Shanghai, there are bitter citizens who have received (some) monetary compensation for their forced relocation, but have undoubtedly lost all faith in their government. I don't know enough about the political environment in Shanghai, but the people's opinion matters only when it suits the government. It's hard to weigh the pros and cons of such land developments, but it's clear that only tangible benefits have value at the present. And for the time being, Chinese people are too afraid (or maybe just apathetic) to change this status quo. While the issue of eminent domain in the States can be incredibly tiring, I find it preferable to the lack of legitimacy that exists in China.

For anyone interested in reading the essay:
http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/document459.html

Expo part 3: Magazine photography

After a full day at the Expo on Friday, I had to go back the next morning for work. The magazine's next issue is on the Expo, so I had to accompany the photographer to take photos of 45 of the pavilions.

Saturday's attendance hit a new record of over 500,000 people. There really wasn't any point in taking pictures, because there were just way too many people. The loudspeakers kept broadcasting wait times for the popular pavilions (4+ hours for Japan and US, 3+ hours for France and Germany, etc...). The European Square was especially insane. Even the wheelchair line for the Korean pavilion stretched around the block. Imagine if you can: several hundred thousand Chinese people, all doing Chinese things. Snacking on KFC, duck hearts or cucumbers; taking victory pose photos; napping on all of the benches; running towards the hybrid buses that are already packed to maximum capacity.

I don't know how the Expo workers do it. Gao laoshi and I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but I did get to see the Asian and Middle East pavilions, which we didn't do on Friday. We did our best with photos, despite all the people, and now I have a picture of almost every single pavilion...

Some of my favorites (at least the outside, didn't have time to visit the inside). First, the good:

Angola.

South Korea. Their hangul theme was beautifully successful.

UAE. I don't always like Norman Foster, but this one I did.


The bad:
Belarus. This is what you literally get if you give 100 children crayons and told them to draw on a building. Literally.

Pakistan. It's simply a replica of the Lahore Fort. You can't tell here, but the top of the building is a giant Pakistani flag.


And the inexplicable:
Macau. Giant bunny lantern. The architect says it represents childhood memories and Macau's small size but lively spirit. Ok.

Iran. I looked up the English phrase and apparently it's a Persian poem by Saadi. But the English translation...

North Korea. Whoever placed this next to Iran must have a sense of humor...all the other Asian countries are in an entirely different zone.

Expo part 2: All day, everyday...

I have become a huge Expo nerd. I read about it on blogs, follow Expo news, and this whole past week at the magazine office, I've been researching the Asian/Middle Eastern pavilions for our next issue. I know all sorts of random facts about the buildings, architects and about Haibao (the official story is actually a lie, I met a close friend of the designer of the mascot who told me about the original design). I see the event as just a huge branding opportunity for countries, while their talk of "sustainability" and "better life" is mostly just talk. Still, the buildings and designs are why I have spent 20+ hours there already.

My two lovely flagship friends from Nanjing were in town this weekend, so we went to the Expo on Friday. The weather was terrible--grey skies and constant drizzling--but it was perfect for Expo visiting since the crowds weren't too terrible (only 382,100 people!) We were naive enough to think that we could visit the China pavilion...but upon arrival we learned that reservation tickets start at 7 AM and are always out by the time the gates open at 9. We had to be satisfied with taking photos of the enormous red structure from afar.

To avoid the long lines and the inevitable queue rage, we visited not so popular pavilions, like New Zealand, Cambodia, Columbia, and the Caribbean joint pavilions. While none of those were particularly exciting, it was still nice to catch a glimpse of what those countries are about...that is, if you look past the 3D movie hype and ubiquitous claims about sustainability.

We did wait in fairly long lines for Spain, Denmark, and Mexico. We didn't wait at all for Peru, since we told the guard we wanted to eat the restaurant and he just let us right in (expensive food but so delicious). At night, Kamla and Melody went off to see the US pavilion, while Michael and I did France, Switzerland and Australia in record time.

Some photos:
China.

Denmark. The Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen.

Spain. We waited more than an hour for this one and it was worth it for the giant robot baby that cried bubbles and smiled. Uncanny valley, seriously.

Trash in the French line... trash everywhere.

Switzerland. Michael got us in, because il est Suiss. He couldn't stop laughing at this guy though, because he's apparently so typical Swiss.

Australia. The best Expo movie experience, I highly recommend it.

Japanese corporate pavilion. "Hello, we have Hello Kitty for sale!"

We were so beat by the time we finally got home. And I had to get up early the next day...to go back to the Expo for work.

Expo part 1

Last night, the Europeans and I went to check out the Expo, since there are discounted tickets starting at 4 PM. Anna and Werner wanted to see a Swedish band playing at the Europe Square and I just wanted to see the buildings.

The site is absolutely huge. We entered from the corporate side and were impressed by two things: the size, and the lack of people. After hearing reports of the chaos at the Expo, it seems like attendance is not going how the planners expected. We went to the GM pavilion where we watched a truly magical 4D film. We waited an hour for it, but it was worth it for all the surprises. Watching Chinese people frantically push their way into the theater even though there are enough seats was also amusing...and irritating. Afterwards we took the ferry over to the Pudong side where all the country pavilions are. Again, all the Chinese people made a mad dash for the boat as soon as the gate opened, shouting "Hurry run!" as if the boat would leave without them.

We only had time to walk around the European Square, which had much more people than the corporate pavilions. As expected, all the bigger countries had fancy pavilions: Spain and its giant wicker basket, Germany and its hulking steel mass (supposedly the program is really interesting), France with its lit-up lattice facade. The smaller countries, like Belarus, were basically just painted boxy warehouses. Romania had a surprisingly interesting pavilion, which is like a giant green apple with a bite taken out of it.

The Dutch Happy Street totally exceeded my expectations. I had to transcribe/translate an interview with John Kormeling, the architect, and his description of his design just sounded unorganized and crazy. Yesterday I got to see that it is definitely unorganized and crazy but in a good Alice in Wonderland meets futuristic carnival sort of way. There are no lines, since people can walk freely through the figure-eight street. The "buildings" showcased Dutch designers' work and there were plastic sheep sculptures you can move around at the bottom. Everywhere around are colored lights and somewhere bells are tinkling creepily. I think it showed many aspects of Dutch culture and design and was incredibly fun to walk through. But not all of the "nice" pavilions had cool programs. Austria's pavilion was pretty boring; they're trying to simulate Austria's beautiful nature, so you get to throw "snowballs" and walk through projected forests and ponds but the effect doesn't match up to the description.

The concert started at 8, with modern Swedish folk music. The band we came to see, Those Dancing Days, was after and they were a lot of fun. Five girls, dressed like they're from the 80's, playing indie-pop. At the end, some crazy American guy got into the seated area and managed to get the entire audience up and dancing. The volunteers who were blocking the entrance were helplessly pushed aside as Chinese guys excitedly ran in (of course, no Chinese girls dance.) It was one giant party.

I am looking forward to going back to the Expo this Friday when some friends come to visit...lots of pavilions on my list.

Seoul: shopping and hanok neighborhoods

In retrospect, I should have finished updating my trip while in Korea since the VPN I'm using is getting progressively worse. Oh well...onwards to the last day in Seoul!

On Monday, we went back to Insadong to do some shopping. I was never really into Korean fashion before, but staying in China has changed my views on what is cute. I actually really liked a lot of the clothes and shoes in Korea, but I just settled for buying a handmade ring and a few other trinkets and souvenirs. Next was lunch... we were looking for bibimbap, but the octopus with seaweed and rice was just as good. The only other time I've had fresh octopus was in Mexico... the little suckers on the tentacles do weird me out a little. Sue and I always have room for Korean dessert, so we went to a dok cafe, bought some goodies to bring back to the office, and then split a delicious pot bingsu.

Afterwards, we were trying to find Bukchon, a hanok neighborhood, but got sidetracked by other neat places. We stopped by the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Since most museums are closed on Mondays, we didn't get a chance to check out the museums there, but the grounds were really pretty. My favorite part was probably the totems and jangseung, remnants of the old animist culture. I couldn't tell if the wooden and stone totems were authentic, but I liked seeing those. We then wandered around Samcheongdong, which was a quaint area with some traditional-style buildings, tons of coffee shops, boutiques, and Western restaurants.

The hanok neighborhoods was probably my favorite part, even though it's not exactly a touristy thing to do. We just walked around the narrow, hilly streets, looking at the houses tucked into alleys. There were big kimchee jars on the roofs, teens in their cute school uniforms buying snacks, and ajimas smiling at us as we walked by. All the houses were in really good condition (compared to China...) and I was interested to learn that there is a current debate about how to develop/preserve the area.

At night, we went out to Yeouido, the financial district. Sue and I had some gimbap as a snack, and then we made our way to the 63 Building (with some ice cream in hand, because it's impossible for us to go anywhere without some food...). This was once the tallest tower in Asia--like 25 years ago. I think Shanghai has jaded me because I wasn't impressed at all, except for how clean and shiny everything was.

For late dinner, we met up with Joe McPherson, the food blogger at Zenkimchi. We figured he knew the good places to eat so we had emailed him, and he was nice enough to take us to his favorite pork BBQ place. We had two kinds of pork, which we wrapped in lettuce and sesame leaf with red pepper paste and roasted garlic...mmm. The waitress poured beaten egg in the ring around the grill, which is usually used to catch the dripping oil, and threw in some kimchee and green onions to make a Korean omelette of sorts. We also had makgeoli, which is like bubbly unfiltered sake. Joe was very entertaining to talk to. He's lived in Seoul for 6 years and has had a lot of experiences with food as well as tv production. I learned quite a bit about food politics as well, which I didn't even know existed. Anyone interested in Korea and food should check out his blog.

We got home a little late, but it was a really fun night. The next morning we caught the airport bus to Incheon and headed home.

When we got back to Shanghai, I was actually surprised that I had that slightly relieved, coming-home feeling I get when returning from traveling. Korea was fun, but China is familiar and has technically been my home for the past year. I could read the signs, understand the language, and look around at the Chinese faces with a sense of familiarity. It was the first time that I realized that I can live in China long term--doesn't mean I really want to right now, but I have a feeling I'll be back in this country in the future.

Seoul: hanging out with Dr. Park

Yesterday, we met up with one of Sue's old professors, Dr. Park, at the Flying Bird teahouse in Insadong. The teahouse was tiny, with uneven stools, fishtank tables, and chatty songbirds flying freely around the room. I had some hydrangea tea, which has an interesting sweet aftertaste. We sat and chatted with Dr. Park for awhile. He is an extremely small man, at maybe 5'. He teaches at one of the universities and was a lot of fun to hang out with.

He treated us to lunch at a vegetarian place, where you take off your shoes at the door, sit down at the low tables on a mat, and watch as the server brings out 17 small dishes of banchan. I love banchan, so it was nice to try out so many different kinds. For example: apple-egg-potato salad, several kinds of slightly bitter spring greens, glass noodle stir-fry, marinated mushrooms, pickled bamboo, bean sprouts, and of course, kimchee.

After the healthy, filling lunch, we went to Changdokgung (昌德宫), one of the five great palaces built during the Josean Dynasty. I was sad to hear that only 30% of the buildings remain, since a lot of it was destroyed and looted during the Japanese occupation, but it was still a beautiful place. It's easy to see the Chinese influences on the architecture, but it's very different. Korean traditional architecture is much more understated and on a smaller scale, with more big, open spaces. The color schemes are also more muted and layouts of living spaces a little different. We went to the Secret Garden area, which is nothing like Chinese gardens. I'm not sure what traditional Korean gardens are like, but it was extremely peaceful and beautiful. The weather was gorgeous and families were out with their children (no one-child policy here, although low birth rates has become a problem).

Afterwards, we grabbed some coffee and then walked around Namdameng (南大门). Next, Dr. Park took us through back alleys and the vegetable stands, something most tourists probably skip. Next he took us over to Myeung Dong, which is a shopping district full of young people, street food, and international brands. The Myeung Dong cathedral is also there, which is a beautiful Gothic cathedral that has been outfitted with speakers and tv screens on the inside for all the people who go to the services. Dr. Park talked a little about the history of the museum and how it was a focal point during the democracy movements and the only place where police didn't dare go inside.

Dr. Park remained on as our tour guide...taking us to Lotte department store, which is 12 stories of luxury brands. There was a huge line waiting to go into Louis Vuitton. The duty free floor was packed with visiting Japanese tourists. Rich women trying on stiletto heels while boyfriends toted their Chanel bags behind them. Korea is incredibly consumerist. Also, Seoul has its share of ugly skyscrapers. Bad architecture isn't just a Chinese thing.

Dinner was at an Indian place, since Sophie doesn't like Korean food much, but everyone likes Indian food. After some good conversation and tasty curry, we parted with Dr. Park and went back to the hostel with sore feet.

It was a good day and we saw a lot of the city. Today was also busy, but will update on that later.

Mr. Jin and Ishmael?

I complain a lot about inane conversations at work, but today was really good.

My boss, Mr. Jin, sat down to show me some pictures of some villas in the old Hui style. Courtyard houses were very common, composed of simple rectilinear blocks; the different pathways provided variations in space. There were rules about how many doors, windows, pillars, rooms, etc one could have and only the emperor was allowed to have decorations and frivolities in design.

Southeastern Anhui is a mountainous region and many villages lived in isolation from the kingdom. It was also an area of rich Hui merchants and because of the isolation, they often worked their way around design rules. Instead of 9 fancy pillars in the hallways, they'd make three big pillars and then ring each one with three, decorative pillars connected via delicate latticework. Instead of plain beams, they'd carve flowers and clouds onto them and hope that no officials would happen to drop by and look up at the ceiling. Back then, liberties with design meant beheading so these guys were gutsy.

(Huizhou was at its economic and cultural peak during the Song dynasty. The Cultural Revolution pretty much finished off--literally--the remaining merchants and landowners, and now Anhui is very poor.)

Then 100 years ago, Western influence came into China, bringing with it Western ideas of design and technology. Stone and concrete began replacing wood, which was now a limited resource. Furthermore, the concept of city began to change. Before, it had been a highly feudal setup, with a city being a king surrounded by establishments, which was surrounded by farms. Gradually, people began packing in together into smaller and smaller spaces, due to many reasons such as industrialization. This is a process we are continuing today. Shanghai has about 20 million people. I live in a box 200 feet off the ground.

Mr. Jin deplored this condition of living. He says the courtyard house, where people spend their time outdoors and under the sun, is the natural way for people to live. Xiao Yan then pointed out that only in the modern concept of city can there be technological progress. Marketplace of ideas, division of labor, etc.

Mr. Jin, "That's true. But the traditional living style lasted thousands of years. It worked. How long do modern cities last? Already we can see it's a failed model. You can argue progress is important for society, but the old way of living is important for people. "

This is the most beautiful thing I've heard so far in China.This argument may not make sense to some people, but anyone who has read Daniel Quinn's book Ishmael will understand completely.

Xiao Yan said, "I think the old ways perished because they weren't efficient at all. Survival of the fittest applies to ideas too."

Mr. Jin: "What we have today isn't survival of the fittest. Rather, it's the survival of whoever can eliminate the weakest the fastest. In nature, both the strong and the weak find a way to exist, for how else can we have diversity in the world? Diversity applies to culture as well."

I wanted to hug him. My boss is awesome. I feel like Mr. Jin may have also read Ishmael.

There is no way I can go into Quinn's philosophy briefly, but basically, humans currently live in a way that is not in accordance with nature's laws, which is why we are destroying ourselves and the planet. No amount of technology will change that. We have to realize that a way of life that works is one that lasts--what doesn't work is putting all of our energy in developing sustainable cities, making recycling programs, putting little bandages on huge problems in order to maintain our current way of life. As well-meaning as people are, I still shake my head at slogans like, "Better city, better life."

Well this blog entry got a little out of control…but Ishmael is one of the most important books I have read. Combine it with discussions about design and I am super excited.

Search for internships

Jian laoshi came last week to update everyone on their internships and pretty much everyone has theirs figured out, either from him and his connections or the students finding the internship themselves. But for me... he has nothing.

Architecture students generally graduate first before doing an internship. Typical pay is a few hundred kuai a month--if you're lucky to get paid at all, that is. If students intern while getting their undergrad, oftentimes it is through the school and the school pays the company to take them in. Those internships usually last maybe a month or two and you can imagine what kind of tedious tasks they have.

This is all very bad news for me, because 1) I don't have a degree, 2) I'm looking for a salary where I can actually live off of, and 3) I am from the US. Jian laoshi talked with a few employers and they were all uncertain about my abilities, especially since I don't have a degree. Miles always says my skill levels make my Nanjing classmates look like 5 year olds trying to scrawl with crayons... of course he's exaggerating, but I do feel that I know just as much if not more than my classmates--and I've only had 3 studios to their 10.

Spent half a day looking up and applying for internships. It’s a tedious process and every job posting I look at wants people with degrees and work experience. I sent off my resumes and work samples to several companies though--hopefully they reply.