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Dramatic mid-winter sky and rooftops in a shanty town in Shenyang, NE China, 1989
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Dramatic mid-winter sky and rooftops in a shanty town in Shenyang, NE China, 1989
Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China - 12 December 1999; no people in view; Shenyang is not the sort of place in China that tourists would knowingly want to - or get to - visit. In 1989, when I spent a year there as EU Director of a joint Europe/China environmental project in air pollution, it was a grim, industrial city. Moreover, one of its abiding delights is its extreme climate, with astonishingly cold winters, direct from Siberia. I shot this in a mid-winter walk in -20C. The weird sky owes much to the extreme cold, with the sun struggling through layers of stratospheric ice. And the cluttered skyline is down to the universal use of coal for heating throughout the fierce winter. The result of all this, strangely, is this visual beauty we see here.
Beijing, China - 26 January 1984 Two hardy local people are standing by Kunming Lake, an ancient recreational and beauty spot in Beijings Imperial Summer Palace. This artificially dredged lake occupies three-quarters of the ground of this summer retreat of the emperors. Longevity Hill can be seen in the background. Because its November and icy cold, soon the snows will start falling and the lake will freeze for months. This is a historic image; today this idyllic scene would be submerged by masses of foreign and domestic tourists. Editor Note: This image is 35 years old. Whilst its quality is consistent with 35mm analog film technical characteristics and limitations of the early 1980ÔÇÜAos, it is not comparable to improved image quality obtainable from current high resolution digital sensors
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Abstract Aerial Chaos Chimney City City Life Cloudscape Confusion Crowded Domestic Life Dramatic Sky Frost Glowing Heating House Leaning Liaoning Looking Up Luminescent Monochrome Pole Roof Telegraph Tilt Urban Wind Winter Wire China East Asia Gloomy Sky In Silhouette Jumbled Residential Building Shanty Town Shenyang
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This print captures the essence of two contrasting scenes in China. The first image showcases a dramatic mid-winter sky and rooftops in a shanty town located in Shenyang, NE China, taken on 12 December 1999. With no people in view, the photograph portrays the harsh reality of this industrial city during that time. Despite its grim atmosphere and extreme climate with freezing winters from Siberia, there is an unexpected beauty emanating from the cluttered skyline caused by coal heating and the ethereal sky created by layers of stratospheric ice. The second image takes us back to Beijing on 26 January 1984, where two resilient locals stand beside Kunming Lake at Beijings Imperial Summer Palace. This historic recreational spot holds immense beauty as it occupies three-quarters of the palace grounds and offers a glimpse of Longevity Hill in the background. As winter approaches with icy cold temperatures, soon snow will blanket this idyllic scene while the lake freezes for months to come. Both photographs capture moments frozen in time; however, they also highlight how much has changed over several decades. While these images may not possess today's high-resolution digital quality due to their analog film origin, they serve as valuable reminders of China's past before mass tourism transformed these landscapes forever.
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