The Rapidly Changing Face of Urban China

Changzhou is sometimes an interesting indicator when considering the pace of urban development in China. Naturally, one has to keep in mind that this is also in southern Jiangsu, which is the more wealthier part of China. The pace of development next to a city like Shanghai is not the same as far out west or far north in provinces like Inner Mongolia. An apt comparison would be to New York City. The closer one is to The Big Apple, the more prosperous a town like Hoboken might be. The cities closer to Shanghai have it better than other cities in the country. And to be fair, sleepy little Changzhou is not even near the blinding growth of places like Suzhou or Shanghai. But, even here, it seems like I run across scenes like this on a regular basis. 

Here is a view from the street. 

And, here is some more just randomish destruction. 

This area is near where they are building Changzhou's downtown subway station. It makes sense that some of the more crumbling buildings are going to get bulldozed as the city center shifts to where Changzhou's two subway lines will converge. But, that's the thing. I have only lived in this city for three years. I remember this place like this. 

This used to be a busy food court. For about a year and a half before the wrecking ball arrived, businesses slowly started leaving. It's likely people knew this place was slated for demolition. I used to teach in this area, and I have eaten this area when it was a busier culinary hub. But, here is the more sobering thing about the above pictures. I have only lived in China for three years. And, my personal photo archive already has stuff like above. It's not like I had tried hard to find pictures of things that are no longer around.