Hutong vs. highrise: A photo essay on China’s radical urban changes

Beijing is one of the earliest still-existant cities planned around a grid: the old city is organized around a chessboard-like matrix of alleys, known as hutong, that date back at least a millenium. But as developers in Beijing scramble to built modern towers in the urban core, hutong are disappearing.

German photographer Christopher Domakis has made it his business to document them. Domakis spent three months in China earlier this year, and during his stay, he ended up photographing dozens of hutong, documenting the narrow, centuries-old alleys and corridors as he ran across them. He also traveled widely throughout other Chinese cities, documenting the construction of hundreds of new towers.

Read the full text and see the photos

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Jacqueline Nivard (June 21, 2013). Hutong vs. highrise: A photo essay on China’s radical urban changes. URBACHINA. Retrieved October 3, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/v2h5


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