Not much traditional Chinese architecture exists in Shanghai anymore. Only temples and some buildings in “Old Town” contain pagodas and two stone guardian lions. Back in the mid 1800’s, 60% of Shanghai’s housing were shikumen (stone-gate house) which were built by British and French speculators. These three story brick and wood homes contained a unique mixture of East and West, interior Chinese courtyard and English terraced housing. These homes were originally designed to house one family. But as Shanghai’s population increased faster than construction, the government forced these families to sublease each bedroom to a different family. As a result, it wasn’t uncommon to have had 4 to 5 unrelated families living in one shikumen. Each family lived in one private room, but the kitchen was shared. However, each family had their own utility meter. This living situation still exists today. These shikumen homes are rapidly being destroyed though. The government’s vision for Shanghai’s future is “out with the old and in with the new”. They want Shanghai to be the most modern city in China. So, today’s architecture in Shanghai is quite modern. It has an impressive skyline filled with flashy skyscrapers, most of which are constructed from steel and glass. Land in Shanghai is sacred, and with a population of 18 million (and growing), they have no choice but to build upward. Shanghai is rapidly deconstructing and reconstructing. It seems like a new building is completed each week!
Typical front door with utility phone numbers stamped on building
Alley with clothes hung up to dry
Resident's stuff in front of house
No comments:
Post a Comment