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.

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.