Large-scale black and white photos depicting past events attract many passers-by.

Local scenes about cleaning earwax and selling marshmallows are depicted in the colored painting.

Local scenes about selling mud (which can increase burning time of coal) and pouring cans are depicted in the colored painting.

A photograph of a bamboo product shop on the street of Shibati by Zhang Yuqing

A photograph of a clinic on the street of Shibati by Zhang Yuqing

Image of Outdoor Art Exhibition in the Mountain City Footpath (Photo provided by the interviewee)

An ingenious interplay between an image and the streetscape

A photograph of the entrance of the street of Shibati by Jiang Liang

Various scenes of crafts on the street of Shibati were recorded in a huge colored painting

A 12-meter tall photograph depicting a Taiping Gate on Baixiang Street a hundred years ago by Ma Li

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “Look! This is the best shaobing in Shibati, and all memories from childhood come up to our mind!” Shaobing is a type of baked, unleavened, and layered flatbread in Northern Chinese cuisine. Recently, a group of huge black and white photos were exhibited at the construction fence of City Balcony, an assembly platform, in the upper section of the Shibati in the Yuzhong District, attracting many passers-by to watch.

As an important part of the 2018 Chongqing (International) Image Culture Festival, an outdoor image exhibition of urban space has been held at Shibati, Shancheng Lane and Baixiang Street in Yuzhong District at the same time.

Dilapidated staircases, on-demand cinemas, hair salons, earwax cleaning and pedicures, as well as long-time residents of Shibati — these old photos in black and white are the real scenes of the Shibati old street before its renovation.

Time travel with the help of a huge photo

Earwax cleaners, carpenters, dressmakers, shaobing or needlework hawkers, mahjong players and the indispensable Bangbang groups in the mountain city are depicted in the huge photograph in an unobstructed way, which gives a sense of time-space travel to the audience.

Head of the image exhibition said that Jiang Liang used a large frame camera to capture every corner of Shibati systematically, in an attempt to recover every detail and texture of the old street.

In addition to the works of Jiang Liang, photographer Zhang Yuqin has also recorded Shibati in his minimalist method. He took photo of each storefront while he walked along the Shibati Street. The various photographs depicting real life events of Shibati are lively and natural. The photo album “Chongqing Shibati Kaleidoscope” is reminiscent of the memories when hawkers touting their products in the old street of Shibati.

Depiction of a mundane life in Chongqing

You Jiang, the writer and cartoonist, is a long-time Chongqing resident. Looking at these photos depicting past events on the scene of the exhibition, You said that for every generation of Chongqing resident, they have their own memories of Shibati. According to You, his most impressive memory of Shibati is its on-demand cinemas and chuanchuan, a kind of spicy hot snack. “The Shibati, connecting the city’s upper part to its lower part, is a place where Chongqing locals share their memories.”

The photo goes all the way to Zhongxing Road following the construction fence, with a giant colored painting at the end. All sorts of skills by various people such as carpenters and craftsmen who make articles from bamboo strips are depicted on the painting.

"Sweet Fried Rice with Boiled Water is rare now, but it is an authentic Chongqing delicacy." In front of the painting depicting various authentic Chongqing cuisine from the past, Chen Zhiqing, who lives near Zhongxing Road, said Sweet Fried Rice with Boiled Water is prepared by mixing fried rice, hawthorn, peanuts, sesame seeds, boiled water, and finally putting on the brown sugar water. " I loved this when I was a kid. Hawkers of the snack would be surrounded by us in no time when we saw them before we made a purchase.”

According to a head of the Yuzhong District, the photo album is the previous memory of Shibati and a realistic depiction of the secular life of the past in Chongqing.

A special kind of memory of Chongqing

In addition to Shibati, an outdoor art exhibition was also displayed at the Mountain City Footpath as well as the Shancheng Lane, which was under construction. Integrating the image into urban space, the exhibition provides more viewing possibilities to tourists.

And on Baixiang Street, a 12-meter tall photograph depicting real life events near Taiping Gate on Baixiang Street a hundred years ago, perfectly fit into a building wall. The depicted in the photograph is the workers who carry water in front of the Taiping Gate during the port-opening era.

According to the head of Yuzhong District, these photographs which are perfectly integrated with the buildings are fun, leaving a unique memory of Chongqing to the audience. (Translated by Yang Lifu, Fathom Language Limited)