I enjoyed reading this article and I can't wait for us to cover Datong. our first City in Shanxi is Xinzhou, so we have to wait for maybe season 2. Xinzhou will be week beginning 31 December
One way to put some visuals to this: Jia Zhangke’s Caught By The Tides begins and ends with scenes from two very different Datongs between ~2005 and 2022
I recall backpacking through Datong in the 90s (last chance to sight the 3 gorges b4 summerged) .... first time I came across black ice (coal dust suspension). I appreciated the history (9 dragon wall) but the museums at that time (even in Forbidden Palace) was just dusty assemblages, nothing like the multimedia interactive displays in west. I would hope that with accumulation of wealth, the municipality would dust off and renovate their rich culture ...
“Beijing's city planners rejected this proposal and demolished the beautifully preserved city walls, which became one of the biggest regrets in Chinese urban planning history.” - I grew up in beijing, and resonate with this so much.
And, thank you for acknowledging Datong. I visited this “后花园” last year, friends recommended this spot as a place to visit. And every taxi driver spoke of their former mayor positively with such pride. I biked along its city wall, imagined that’s what it would’ve felt like if Beijing still had this wall, and thought this mayor did it right.
I grew up in Datong. As a 老登，I approve this article. Make Datong great again! Long live mayor Geng! 大同大不同！
Great piece - thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed reading this article and I can't wait for us to cover Datong. our first City in Shanxi is Xinzhou, so we have to wait for maybe season 2. Xinzhou will be week beginning 31 December
great to know! Enjoy your shanxi trip!
Am doing the research online. It's still a lot of information every week
One way to put some visuals to this: Jia Zhangke’s Caught By The Tides begins and ends with scenes from two very different Datongs between ~2005 and 2022
Yes so true! Jia Zhangke is a Shanxi boy.
Didn't realize but that makes sense! There's a scene of the cityscape in 2000s with the OYS song 杀死那个石家庄人 playing that captures the vibe
That's great to know. I actually hope to see a “third-tier city cultural renaissance” in the US if you know what I mean
I recall backpacking through Datong in the 90s (last chance to sight the 3 gorges b4 summerged) .... first time I came across black ice (coal dust suspension). I appreciated the history (9 dragon wall) but the museums at that time (even in Forbidden Palace) was just dusty assemblages, nothing like the multimedia interactive displays in west. I would hope that with accumulation of wealth, the municipality would dust off and renovate their rich culture ...
The city is having its cultural renaissance now! I'm hoping you could visit Datong again and write about your new experiences.🥹
“Beijing's city planners rejected this proposal and demolished the beautifully preserved city walls, which became one of the biggest regrets in Chinese urban planning history.” - I grew up in beijing, and resonate with this so much.
And, thank you for acknowledging Datong. I visited this “后花园” last year, friends recommended this spot as a place to visit. And every taxi driver spoke of their former mayor positively with such pride. I biked along its city wall, imagined that’s what it would’ve felt like if Beijing still had this wall, and thought this mayor did it right.