Xi jiao min xiang Hutong
Xi jiao min xiang Hutong
Next to Tian'anmen and Qianmen, Xijiaominxiang is located in the southern part of Xicheng District. Winding about 1,000 meters long and 10 meters wide, Xijiaominxiang is larger than the average hutong and has a unique history.
Xijiaominxiang was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but became prominent about 100 years ago when several domestic and overseas banks chose to open in that location, making it the city’s original financial street. Visitors can still see the architecture of old banks there, including the former sites of the Central Bank, China Agriculture and Industry Bank and Mainland Bank.
Si HeYuan refers to those tradional Beijing residential houses in the HuTongs
This volume contains 80 full-color photographs which chronicle a four-year journey of exploration through some of the oldest neighborhoods in Beijing, China. With a photographic process of long exposures ranging from twenty-five minutes to four hours, the people are predominantly lost. The images are of a way of life all but rubble to the modernization of China's capital city. Hutongs are the ancient Chinese communities built hundreds of years ago that now rest in the middle of the urban sprawl. Tight streets, communal bathrooms, and a poor water supply are balanced by an incredible sense of community & a peaceful way of life. Most of the dwellings depicted in this book have been destroyed in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Paul Duda received his BFA in photography from Penn State University and an MFA from Pratt Institute in NYC. He has taught for the past 14 years at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT and has lectured about his work at numerous universities. Paul Duda owns and operates Studio Duda Photography, a commercial photographic studio & fine art gallery in New Haven, CT. With over 50 gallery shows, including OK Harris in NYC, Duda's work includes studies in more than 20 countries. www.studioduda.com
Review
Paul Duda's photographic masterwork brings into focus the peaceful, intergenerational lifestyle of the ancient hutongs nestled within the bustling city of Beijing, while making us care deeply that they are being destroyed in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Using extended exposure photography and stream of consciousness discourse Duda immerses us in the lives of the hutong inhabitants, while honestly sharing deeply felt emotions and his creative processes. His extended exposure technique mirrors the Chinese government in making his subjects disappear, while distilling the essesnce of their existence in the remaining elements and his moving prose. The magic of this work is that the reader is haunted by the words and pictures, returning time and again, much as we would to a favorite book of poetry, to be enchanted and enveloped by this foreign world. There is palpable pain as we see the highrise apartment buildings encroach on these ancient places and peaceful people that we have learned to care about, and a lingering sadness at their loss.
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