Once the largest city in the world, Xian has been the capital of China for over 4000 years of its history.  There are artifacts from many periods of Chinese development.  In the central city, however, there are beautifully preserved relics that date back to the 14th and 15th century, the height of the Ming Dynasty.  The 9-mile long city walls are still intact and well preserved as are the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, the Great

Bell Tower

Drum Tower

Courtyard House in Muslim Quarter

Great Mosque--largest one in China. It is interesting to see this mix of Muslim religion and Chinese culture embodied in a single piece of architecture.

Mosque and several landmark homes.

Images of the Terra Cotta Warriors makes almost anyone want to travel to China.  Created over 2200 years ago and buried until a farmer discovered them in 1974, these vast excavations definitely live up to expectations.  The objects are beautiful.  The story of  a great leader preparing for protection in the afterlife for decades is mysterious and compelling.  The archeological feat underway is daunting.  Over 7000 soldiers have been unearthed, but many more remain underground.  Work is ongoing and visible to visitors.  The skill and creativity in the display of the material is impressive as well.

Half actual size bronze chariot made of 3600 pieces found near the burial mound of emperor Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb.

Detail of chariot.

Chariot's four horses.

Tomb of Liu Qi, fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) on the other side of Xian from the Terra Cotta Warrior excavations.

Excavations of Liu Qi's tomb.

Although 92% of China’s population is the majority Han ethnicity there are a number of minority cultures that are often located in remote areas.  Some of these minority people live in beautiful Zhuang, Yao and Dong villages in the mountains of southern China where time seems to have stood still.  There are often no roads to these villages, and you must hike in an hour or more to get there.  The terrain is steep and dramatic, and the villages are nestled gracefully in to the mountainsides.  The farmers tend beautiful rice crops on terraces that have been in operation for generations.  Intricate irrigation systems feed the fields and create the constant sound of moving water.

The wooden houses here generally have a ground floor dedicated to stock, a middle floor for human habitation and a top floor for storing harvests.  The weathered wood and grey tile roofs make the buildings seems like they have just grown out of the soil of the mountain.

Flooded rice fields make swirling patterns accentuating the contours of the mountains.

Very labor intensive farming by hand.

Buildings and terraces are all generated by the contours of the landscape.

Stone entry gate on footpath to Zhuang village.

Wooden buildings are large, but dark and well integrated into the landscape.

Simple, sensible vernacular buildings.

Local forests are primary source of materials.

New construction follows longstanding patterns.

Different floors for different functions is articulated in the massing.

Slopes are steep and difficult for buildings to negotiate.

Bridge over irrigation channel.

A plaque in the bridge gave credit to all of the villagers who donated their time and resources to build it communally.

All transportation is via footpaths.

A few beasts of burden can negotiate the paths.

Mostly, humans are the beasts of burden.

Village life is slow and quiet.

Work is steady and constant.

There is a soft patina of age on everything.

Distinctive vertical stonework.

Emblem in paving that depicts the cooperation of three cultures--three fishes with one head.

Taking a boat up the Li River from Yangshuo is like taking a big step back into time.  The villages have a slow, ancient way of life cross-bred with electronic media access and a reputation for beauty and authenticity that has brought the likes of Bill Clinton to visit.  There is some kind of compelling force that keeps people in these villages and loyal to a longstanding way of life.  It is hard to make even a very modest living, and inhabitants are often forced to live for periods of time in the nearest big city, Guangzhou, to make money in order to continue living at any level of comfort in the villages.  Life is slow and very basic.

A kind of primitive grandeur greets visitors from the river.

The gateway from the river is also a landmark on what once must have been a little square, but is now just left over space.

For a rural village, the buildings were remarkably well built.

There is rich ornament and a strong sense of style, though much of the detail is crumbling.

Abandoned home that once housed a wealthy family.

Sweet, evocative streets

Many passages are just muddy lanes--as they might have always been.

Some houses are freshly plastered and relatively well maintained.

Rich patina of time.

Details that indicate status of original residents.

Faded slogans from the Cultural Revolution

Evidence of ancient farm practices still alive and well.

Gaggles of farm animals.

Ubiquitous rural chickens

Elegance and exquisite craft in some of the courtyards

Though deteriorated, some of the interior spaces are quite grand. Mao still rules out here.

Though the domestic life seems very basic and rudimentary, the TV is always in the background.

Will this kid stay in his village after a childhood filled with the outside world via electronic media?

Remarkably, the current generation did make the decision to stay even in the midst of massive urbanization in China.

Even though life on the river is still completely dependent on the traditional river raft, it might be made of PVC pipe today rather than of bamboo. Time marches on.

This is one of the most stunning landscapes in the world.  The flatness of the water and the rice fields contrasting with the karst peaks that have been sculpted by weather has been the inspiration for Chinese scroll paintings for ages.  The dense forests of bamboo are soft and exotic and sway gently in the breezes.

River and karst peaks near Yangshuo

Moon Hill with dramatic circular opening.

Hiking up Moon Hill

View from top of Moon Hill.

Karst peaks along Li River

Mammoth stand of bamboo.

Fisherman with Cormorant birds.

The agricultural development of the region is timeless and beautiful.  It is a breadbasket for the country, but, because of the irregularity of the landscape, most of the farming utilizes very labor intensive traditional farming techniques.  Fishing in the river is also a major enterprise.  They fish from bamboo rafts and sometimes use cormorant birds to catch the fish.

Jinmao Dasha tower by SOM--one of the tallest buildings in the world at 1379 feet

Shanghai Financial Center by KPF--another of the tallest buildings in the world at 1509 feet.

Some of the many "minor" towers at 40-50 stories

Dense towers of multifamily housing

Lower density housing from early stages of Pudong development

Large parks and grad boulevards are interspersed with the towers.

There are also impressive cultural facilities in Pudong like this performing arts center by Paul Andreu.

Before 1990 Pudong was one of the poorest districts in Shanghai, full of squalid slums and industrial plants belching polluted air.  Just 20 years ago it was declared a Special Economic Zone and became one of the largest building sites in the world–at one point reputed to have been home to one-third of the world’s largest cranes.  Now it is a forrest of skyscrapers with freeways, boulevards and parks at ground level.

Shanghai has over 4000 high rise buildings exceeding 20 stories making it one of the densest cities in the world.  It has a remarkable subway and fast train system that has come all-at-once along with the building boom.  The results in terms of urban are both frightening and fascinating.

We try so hard in American cities to get an active pedestrian street scene to happen.  In China, with a billion people and 17 million in Shanghai alone, there never seems to be an issue with action on the street day or night.  And, of course, where there are people around, cool things just seem to happen serendipitously.  On Nanjing Dong Lu in downtown Shanghai the mixture of aggressive retailers, garish signs, bustling crowds and lots of hawkers is complimented by ballroom dancing in the street and slackers just hanging out.  What a scene!

Zhouzhuang, west of Shanghai, and Tongli, southeast of Shanghai, seem light years away from the city.  They bear the deep patina of time as much as Shanghai gleams with newness.  It is amazing how timeless and universal the principals of town building are.  The narrow streets and canals and stone buildings are not so different from what one might find in a fine old French, Italian or German village.  But glimpses into the alleys, courtyards and open doors of houses give a strong sense of China.  Mao’s picture still hangs in older people’s homes.  Unfamiliar grains, fruits and vegetables populate the markets.  Old guys relax in a deep squat chatting with each other.

Canal in Tongli has impressive stonework built to last.

Even old people seem tough and hard working.

Guys just hanging out in a shop.

Candy maker pulverizing nuts.

Pulling a taffy-like sweet.

There is a quiet serenity away from the center of Zhouzhuang.

Age seems to make buildings better, not deteriorated.

Gorgeous stonework creeps through the aging stucco.

Paving is extraordinary in these small towns--sometimes massive stone slabs, sometimes delicate and intricate patterns.

Boats are a major means of transport.

What a contrast with the fast pace and crowds of Shanghai!

Much of the work takes place in alleys and courtyards.

I am actually getting to the point I prefer those colorful plastic containers in the market to the traditional straw ones.

Chickens are ubiquitous in rural China.

Mao's picture, once a fixture in most Chinese households, is now relegated to older people's homes.

I had an incredible opportunity to see the new Giant Group Campus that is just being completed by Morphosis a short distance outside Shanghai.  Construction was pretty much finished, but the client had not moved in.  We were able to see the whole project quite thoroughly inside and out.

Many Morphosis projects make magic out of very tight constraints.  Caltrans is pinched by a limited budget.  The Cooper Union building seems to be trying to bust out of a straightjacket site.  But in this project in Shanghai there seem to be few constraints.  The 3-D sculptural quality that is evident in the models and drawings of many of the unrealized projects of Morphosis seem to be able to take full form here.

Land and water and buildings become one continuous experience.

Building jumps over the road at the entry point.

Offices on east side of the campus are slung long and low around library and common spaces under a green roof.

Green roof reads as a rolling ground plane.

Office entry breaks down barriers between inside and outside with glass ceiling and bamboo-filled courtyard.

Interior of common spaces are spatially complex and dynamic.

Library space is sculpted from white planes and volumes and is lit from all sides.

Sensuous shapes are everywhere.

Actual work spaces are clean, orderly and beautifully lit.

East side entry sucks visitors down and into the building.

Hotel on west side of campus is tucked under a landscape form as well.

Entry to hotel introduces inverted, rounded conical forms.

The same conical forms act as landmarks in the fitness center.

Dramatic contrasts of light and dark animate the fitness center.

Indoor pool is a sensory delight.

Access to hotel rooms is from an outdoor passage.

The surface of the ground heaves up to become habitable. Earthen roofs reiterate the ground plane.  The building jumps over the road to create a broad sallyport.  It floats on or above the water surrounding it.  There is no clear separation between built and natural landscape.

The forms are aggressive and dynamic.  They thrust and jut and gesture dramatically.  The whole composition seems like a twisting, winding Chinese dragon.  It feels just right in its setting.

The larger campus is made up of two smaller ones–the eastern side housing offices, library and a suite for the CEO, the western side accommodating a fitness center and small hotel for corporate guest.  The two sides are connected by a bridge over the roadway that links the composition visually as well as functionally.

The scale of the entry pavilions is mammoth, and it needs to be. At peak times the crowds are huge.

Detail of the entry pavilions is excellent--clean, precise and beautiful.

Lighting throughout the Expo is pretty spectacular at night.

China's pavilion is the dominant landmark immediately adjacent to the entry concourse.

One of the most interesting country pavilions is Spain's. The color, material and texture is evocative (though it is somewhat crudely made).

The exterior surface is made of basket material of various configurations shingled to create a loose, rich pattern.

There is already considerable weathering, and it is clear this is a temporary installation. It will soon self-destruct.

Spain's pavilion also looks great at night with the texture of the basket weave accentuated by the light.

The interior has three major spaces, the most spectacular of which is dominated by one huge art piece. A thirty foot tall animatronics baby looms over the crowded hall.

The baby is amazingly lifelike. It changes expressions and moves very slowly in response to the crowd. If one area gets particularly loud it will look over in that direction.

As you get up close the skin and detail is extraordinary.

United Arab Emirates made an impressive show for a small group of countries.

There seemed to be allusions to rolling sand dunes and ripples created in the sand.

Germany's pavilion looked very--German. There were a lot of trendy angular shapes all over the Expo. This one was the most sophisticated of that genre.

Poland took the angular route as well, but gave it an original twist by making reference to paper cutting traditions in Poland.

Since China also has a strong paper cutting tradition, this was a nice reference.

Although I expected the British pavilion to be one of my favorites from pictures I had seen, it was a bit of a disappointment. It was tiny and kind of weak. The little "jewel" of the cathedral was lovely, but was just a small bit of an otherwise crude building.

A number of the smaller countries' pavilions were really impressive. The interior of Chile's building was very cool both spatially and in terms of how it was made.

You actually walk through the big egg which is the centerpiece of the space.

Norway's pavilion was also an interesting little vignette in wood.

It does a great job of exploring lamination and layering of materials.

Bamboo is used to make beautiful, if somewhat gratuitous, forms.

Korea's pavilion was one of the most original ones I thought. It did a great job of integrating indoors and outdoors together.

It had real spatial complexity as well as strong surface treatment.

It also looked great at night when it seemed to glow from within.

The architecture of World’s Fairs in general ranges from exquisite (e.g. Mies Barcelona Pavilion, Le Corbusier’s L’Esprit Nouveau Pavilion, Aalto’s Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair) to just flashy and eye-catching with very little sophistication.  There was a lot of attention grabbing excess at Shanghai and occasionally some real quality.  I was most impressed when there was a powerful effect achieved with simple means–like the basket skin in Spain;s pavilion or the simple exterior and rich interior of Chile’s pavilion.

All in all, I feel like I am at an architectural petting zoo at these World’s Fairs.  Every exotic entry stands alone.  Each pavilion is muscling out its neighbor in a effort to be the star attraction.  At Shanghai, architecture seemed to be the major medium for individual expression.  The exhibits seemed to take a back seat to the buildings, and were often pretty boring.

It was a bit dismaying to see how trendy the architecture tended to be in a lot of cases.  There were a lot of warmed-over versions of shapes, forms and materials you see around a lot.  The real invention or authentic expression of message was pretty rare.

The best exhibits in the fair were the crowds.  They were fantastic to watch.  The overwhelming majority of people there (I heard numbers from 95% to 99%) were Chinese tourists from all over the country.  They had their parasols to protect against the potent sun during the day and mobbed the place until late into the night.  They seemed endlessly patient (waiting in line for up to 5 hours for some pavilions), wondrously curious and genuinely proud to have hosted such a great show.