The picture I chose is based from the Shanghai Longtang-Pu Tuo District in China. Shanghai is one of the largest metropolises in the world and is the largest city in China. Geographically, it is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. According to Wikipedia Shanghai is the “largest center of commerce and finance in mainland China”. While looking for background of the district, the sites showed Shanghai as a very prosperous city. Tourist sites pop up when you Google the town.
It is rather interesting seeing all the travel sites and “pretty pictures” they put on Wikipedia showing the nice and financially stable portions of the city. However, nothing comes up in relation to the Longtang-Pu Tuo district. The less prosperous section of Shanghai is not even mentioned or thought about. Worn streets and alleyways go without being noticed. Only the tourist portions of Shanghai are discussed. With the large expansion of Shanghai and the abundance of people there is a lot of area to cover and talk about. But there is still plenty of space for tourist advertising and referring to the less glamorous parts of Shanghai. The most shown on Wikipedia for the Longtang-Pu Tuo District is the land area, population, and a mention that the Shanghai West Train Station is located in the district. This gives us one sentence about a district that holds over one million people.
With the knowledge of Shanghai as the tourist hub and high dollar living standards, it is hard to see where the photo fits in with all of it. The picture shows a battered up alleyway while the photos online are of tall skyscrapers and bright city lights. As opposed to the Shanghai that is “center of finance and trade in mainland China” (Wikipedia), this district shows little prosperity.
Hu Yang had a number of other photos like the one I chose. In this collection of photos, Yang showed scenes that are not shown when Shanghai is being described. Looking at this photo now, I can see the diversity between the image shown by Yang in the photo and those of that show skyscrapers and bright city scenes. Those in the Longtang-Pu Tuo District have less spectacular conditions and do not have a life like those I found while I researched Shanghai. Like the photo I chose, Yang included a caption for each photo. These captions helped paint a better picture of what is left unnoticed about the District. In these photos the families are not as well off, but seem to be making it just the same.
This picture now shows a deeper meaning and viewpoint. It makes you wonder why this side of Shanghai goes unnoticed. Why do most just show the vast city as a tourist site that is a huge part of trade and finance in China? It makes you wonder how a city like Shanghai, with its large population and wealth, can still have the living conditions that this district has. Where does the large tourist and financial center of Shanghai break off from this district?
Works Cited
"Shanghai." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai.
Yang, Hu. ShangART Gallery. ShanghART Gallery , Web. 1 Oct 2009. .
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