The Disappearance of Dongjiadu – Xi Zi’s Photographic Archive of a Rapidly Vanishing Part of Old Shanghai

Among the best photographers working in Shanghai at the moment is Xi Zi. He also leaves a lot of helpful and corrective comments on this site when I get streets and location wrong! So excellently The Disappearance of Dongjiadu, a slide show of Xi Zi’s photos and a conversation with the photographer is being held at the Rockbund Art Museum down by the Bund this Friday.

For those who’ve never been there Dongjiadu is the area of the South Bund (beyond the old Quai de France) by the old city. It’s perhaps best known for the Catholic Cathedral down there.It’s certainly an area that’s taken a pounding from the bulldozers in recent years and while, in the former Settlement and Frenchtown areas we’ve lost plenty, some of the structures lost around Dongjiadu are Chinese in their origin and date back over 300 years. Anyone who thinks that the destruction of Shanghai has only been about treaty port western inspired architecture may want to think upon what’s happened to Dongjiadu. Essentially Dongjiadu has ceased to exist as a formerly Chinese part of old Shanghai.

And so the importance of Xi Zi’s photography….

Slide show of PhotographyWorksby Xi Zi and Conversation with thePhotographer: Disappearance of Dongjiadu

Time: Friday Apr. 15^th 7 P.M.

Address: Rockbund Art Museum, 169 Yuan Ming Yuan Road, 1^st floor

It’s a free event but you need to reserve a place via email to info@rockbundartmuseum.org

The Slide show features the independent photographer Xi Zi’s documentary on the transformation of the Dongjiadu community from the beginning to the end.  The photographer will be there to take comments and answer questions. Director Zhou Hongbo of the documentary film Lotus Ferry will be there as well.