They say seeing Shanghai is like peering into the future. I wanted to love it, to be amazed by it, to see and experience it with my own eyes. If thatās the future, though, itās grim - a glaring reminder that we need to clean up our collective acts. The contrast and contradiction in Shanghai cannot be overstated. There are pockets of calm, idealized Chinese beauty, pockets of cosmopolitan renovation and redevelopment and pockets of the pure unfiltered atrocity of deep poverty. You see hard-lived struggles in peopleās eyes and the heaviness that comes from living in scarcity. Where beauty is found solely in the resilience of the human spirit - in the glint of an eye, the upturned corners of a smile and the hope of child. Iāve spent the bulk of my years trying to find the beauty in things and there were times here when I simply couldnāt. Times when I didnāt lift my camera because the mere act of trying to capture that moment on film seemed shallow. I find it tremendously difficult, impossible even, to point a camera at someone who is suffering. I was not prepared for how much that would happen here. Perhaps nothing could have prepared me for China. I spent my first month in Shanghai with a family in a suburb outside of the shiny, new city. They call the place a water town. Itās full of canals, steeped in history and tradition. I hoped to see behind the curtain before venturing into the center of Shanghai, to see more than just the glossy new parts. I wanted to know what it feels like to be alive here. What its like to live in this place during a time of significant change and development. Enormous empty buildings pepper the landscape. Cranes seem to be everywhere. There is endless development interwoven with sections of deep poverty at ground level. Across the river from where I am staying is a slum. I walk through it every day for a month. Iām so far outside my comfort zone I cant even remember where the line is anymore. Iāve never been more grateful in my life. For the simplest of things: Water that you know you can drink. Fruit that doesnāt taste of pesticides. Air thatās breathable. Free access to information. When everything you know is somewhere else, you really notice the fundamentals in life. After two months in China, the whites of my eyes are dull, almost yellow. I donāt drink or smoke so can only surmise that itās from pollution and chemicals in the food - and I tried to eat as healthy as possible. As I reflect on the experience - moments ranging from awe inspiring to heart wrenching - my overarching feeling is that Iām tremendously grateful that I was able to leave. The friends Iāve made here cant. Visas are difficult to get. Theyāre wrapped in an oppressive system that doesnāt value people. Life for the common man in China is not easy. Your life, what you want to do, that has little value here. As part of Chinaās capitalist makeover the majority of the rural population is being transplanted into the city. People who spent their lifetimes working the land, being a part of natureās rhythm, are being moved by the thousands to high rise apartment buildings in cities. They have no choice in the matter. Imagine what that must do to a person - uprooted, everything you know, torn away. Now imagine that type of forced change on an enormous level. I ask about solutions. I ask about what people can do on an individual level to change things and am reminded that the individual here has little meaning. I am reminded that when people are discontent in China they smile and pretend that everything is okay. On every level, nothing is as it seems here. A friend says softly, āhistory repeats itself. People can only remain quiet for so long.ā Those whispers echo throughout China as the disparity deepens and more people recognize the gap. One would hope with Chinaās deep, often tragic history that theyāve learned a thing or two. Chinaās definitely been around the block. Yet here they are, surging ahead with a newly adopted, rather twisted, capitalist vision. Itās as if someone gave the keys to a fifteen year old kid - nobodyās looking in the rear view mirror or thinking about where theyāre headed. Just putting a brick on the accelerator and steamrolling ahead through finite resources. The price of it all is the humanity in its wake. Its heartbreaking. I exited China today feeling freer and more thankful than at any point in my life. Knowing that the world is bigger, crazier, more complex and convoluted than I ever could have imagined. Appreciating the privilege of this journey - the vast adventures, both the fantastic and the challenging. I am ridiculously grateful for whatever cosmic roll of the dice landed me on the other side of the worldās tracks. I hope this experience will influence my work in the years to come. That I will always remember how fortunate I am. That I will remember to tread a little lighter in everything that I do. To simplify my wants, needs and life, remembering that on the other end of anything that I consume is someone elseās labor and life. If youāre reading this, it means you have free access to information. It means you have a computer and electricity. Maybe even running water. Be very grateful. Because from where a lot of folks are sitting, youre on top of the world. For the next couple of months, I will be posting images and thoughts about my time in China here: blog.noticingthedetails/Index As much as I wish it were all rosy, my posts will cover the full spectrum. I hope to paint a solid picture of the experience, from the wondrous to the grisly. As it goes, without the dark we wouldnāt recognize the light. I look forward to sharing the adventure with you.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 16:00:09 +0000
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