Sketch Shanghai

Author: Ye Xiong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-12-01
Features: There has always been an urge to document Shanghai, using photographs, television, and after much consideration, it was decided to use a simple method—sketching. So, I invited the artist Mr. Ye Xiong, who was busy drawing "My Father Deng Xiaoping." Everyone immediately agreed. Mr. Ye Xiong squeezed in some sketches amidst his busy schedule, and the results were outstanding. The Shanghai depicted by his pen is like a beauty who has shed her makeup and washed away the grime, lacking a touch of coquettish charm but exuding freshness, unmatched by any other medium. Shanghai is worth documenting, its rapid development leaving the world in awe. My memories of traveling abroad, after being away for a few years, no longer recognize Shanghai. Foreign tourists question their eyes, waking up early and looking out the window, only to find themselves in Manhattan. Taiwanese visitors also feel the pressure, as Taipei has been caught up by Shanghai in just a few decades—when will they catch up again? Even Mr. Ye Xiong feels the pressure, as he hasn’t finished sketching Yanzhong Green Space when Taiping Bridge Green Space has already been grandly developed. Of course, Shanghai is still in the process of development. Compared to cities in developed countries worldwide, there is still a significant gap. Architecture, the of time, has played a series of brilliant notes in the Shanghai symphony of reform and opening up. We feel its wonderful rhythm, and every day we enjoy this moving orchestration. May this melody continue to be composed more beautifully, and we will keep recording it for the readers.