Shanghai, China
(2024)
Nanshi, Chinese for south city, is the local name for the historical core of Shanghai. For many years it has been the only place in the rapidly growing city of Shanghai where one could still find traditional Chinese lifestyle. When I first visited Shanghai about 8-9 years ago, Nanshi was a vibrant and chaotic area full of life led on the narrow lanes. This time, I was hoping to revisit the lanes of Nanshi, but unfortunately, I came too late. Instead of the vibrant life of previous years, I found demolition in all its stages. Street after street after street had been closed down, and the houses blinded, surveillance cameras installed and lanes blocked. The whole area was deserted, and the sounds of demolition followed me everywhere I went. Houses were being torn down and building sites constructed while watching. The seemingly unconcerned passers-by using the deserted streets on their way to school and work created a strange atmosphere of doom, which everybody could see and hear but nobody seemed to notice.
I don't know how long it will take to tear down the remaining blocks of small houses and put skyscrapers there instead, but I am quite certain that next time I visit Shanghai, there will be nothing left. These images document the demolition of Nanshi before it is completely gone. They were made during a two week period in March 2024.
© Anette Nordskog