Generations Clashing

A Look at the rapid growth of China's Economy

Since 1976, after the end of a long and strict leadership led by Mao, China has worked hard to open its markets and establish what is called a socialist market economy. The current General Secretary, Xi Jinping, is well on track to achieve the ruling party’s ‘Two 100’ goals, that is to have China as a moderately well off society and become a fully developed nation in time for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.

What may seem like a baseline goal for many is a daunting task when looking at the scale of China’s population as well as the amount of work required to reach these ambitions. Despite this, China is determined and has seen unprecedented growth in the last 30 years taking the crown as the fastest growing economy by doubling its GDP from 10 to 20 trillion in just 6 years. This hard to fathom growth can be grasped when looking more closely at the exponential change in China’s infrastructure. In 1949 China had 69 cities, today it is home to over 658 cities and on schedule to add an additional 100 in the next 20 years. This is also the country that is home to 25% of the world’s 100 largest cities.These new cities will become home to over 50,000 skyscrapers. China’s growth alone consumes 40% of the world’s cement and steel. In 9 years, China multiplied their 41,000km highway network by 2.5 times to become the largest in the world. In 2003 high speed trains did not exist in China and was a foreign concept. Now China is home to the most extensive network of high speed trains in the world, and will multiply that by 4 times by 2020, enough to wrap around the world 1.25 times. In the past 30 years more than 400 million people moved from rural areas to city centres, a number larger than the population of the entire US. By 2030 China is expected to have 1 billion city dwellers. That means that 1.4 million citizens, the population of Estonia and slightly more than double the population of Vancouver, will migrate to a city every month.

With such rapid growth many lessons are learned and consequences are discovered along the way. Well known statistics can show how tripling fossil fuel consumption in just 16 years can create uninhabitable air quality. More so, there is an unquantifiable paradox of two generations clashing throughout society, a younger more technologically savvy generation interacting with a traditional older population. Most societies experience this same conflict but the rate of change and development in China emphasizes this dichotomy throughout the country in both a micro and macro way.

This photo series was not planned or sought after. It formed after spending 3 weeks exploring parts of China and noticing consistent examples of clashing generations. This series highlights the rapid adoption of modern technology, growth of cities, and focuses on the specific effects of such rapid development in a single country.

This photo was taken in Zhujiajiao, a city close to Shanghai. While walking through the narrow streets I peered into the opening of a small shop. There I saw a woman peacefully folding some clothes. I had to capture this scene as it showed various modern conveniences in a traditional environment, a common sight as a result of the quick economic development China has seen.

As we walked towards the music filled bars in the Houhai district of Beijing, I saw a security guard resting against a sign. I captured this scene and later realized how everything fell into place. One can see the store attendant suspiciously glancing over her shoulder surrounded by typical communist propaganda. A common theme of a communist society can be seen here, one where everyone watches each other.

On my last day in Chengdu my friend and I decided to bike around the old district. There amongst the rough and dirty shops I saw a young woman go from store to store as she made her way through her shopping list. Walking around dressed in the latest fashion carrying a large smartphone in her left hand, it was as though she was walking into the past every time she entered a store. I was determined to capture this and ended up with this shot as she started her food shopping.

We decided to rent bikes for the day and cycled to new Beichuan from Mianyang. Somewhere in between these cities we found a temple nestled on the side of a hill. We decided to check it out but when we got there it seemed completely abandoned. After walking around on all the different levels there was not a single person in sight. Then, all of a sudden, a monk walked briskly out of the living quarters and came over in excitement holding a smartphone. He wanted to take a photo with me and post it on his WeChat account as it is very rare for tourists to venture to this temple. I agreed with one condition, that I could take a photo of him in return.

It took some time to adjust to the driving style in China with traffic laws being more a recommendation than rule. It was never a dull moment sitting in the back of a motorized vehicle. This photo was taken in Chengdu, most commonly known for its adorable panda bears and recently recognized as one of the most up-and-coming cities in the world. There I stayed with my good friend and his cousin who was a religious Buddhist and kind enough to take us around to many different sites and food spots on our first evening. I photographed him driving us in Chengdu while he explained the new challenges associated with maintaining a religious lifestyle in a modern city.

A few days into our time exploring Beijing we ended up in the Houhai nightlife district. There we found endless bars all decked out with colourful lights each featuring a singer songwriter or a small band. Venues would differentiate themselves by the energy of their music which ranged from upbeat rock to relaxing soul. Recognizing us as tourists, hustlers standing by each venue would be extra keen to get us inside as it would look attractive to have an international clientele. This shot was taken outside one of these venues.

This photo was taken from the top of the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, a city which exemplifies the explosive growth and modernity that now exists in China. With growth this rapid, adverse effects are sure to follow. You can see that the sun looks as though it is setting high above the horizon. There are no mountains close to Shanghai and this is actually the sun setting behind the smog of the city. The conditions seen in this photo were actually relatively good for Shanghai as they can get much worse in the winter reducing the visibility even more.

Like many cities in China, Chengdu has seen rapid growth in the last few decades. While exploring the city one will often end up in neighbourhoods that have a mix of both modern skyscrapers and low Hutong style communities. Just by entering a small alleyway you can discover mazes of vegetable, rice, and meat stands like the one pictured above. Many of these neighbourhoods also contain government ads encouraging people to move elsewhere so the government can demolish the older buildings to make way for a new and modern skyline.

With China rapidly progressing towards becoming a fully developed country the increase in tourism is apparent everywhere. Only towns with a vibrant tourism industry are saved from being demolished to make way for modern developments. One of these towns is Zhujiajiao and the streets are jam packed with tourists. During peak months the local municipalities close off the city centres and have to restrict entrance due to unsafe volumes of people visiting the main sites. While shuffling down one of the streets I came across a man playing this stringed instrument. It was a surreal scene of peacefulness amongst the loud crowds these ancient towns attract.

A local park in Mianyang provides residents with a space to relax and escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Views from this lookout have changed rapidly in the last few decades. China has moved quickly to build up the skyline by filling cities with homogenous and efficient housing blocks.

This photo was taken in one of the few remaining old districts of Shanghai’s downtown core. With the government's aggressive plan to modernize China’s skyline, many of these residents face forced evictions to make way for developments. In most cases residents are offered alternative housing and compensation. Sometimes this elevates them to a higher status in society. More often, however, residents are drastically under-compensated and may even be left homeless due to corrupt officials. Here, a woman washes dishes outside her home in one of these districts which is soon to be developed.