Qibao
A water-town outside Shanghai
I was invited to be a Graphic Facilitator for a project with Maersk (China) - one of the worlds largest shipping corporations.
They had a workshop where teams from across South East Asia came together to brainstorm on different ideas. I had to play
the role of the person who can give this idea a form, identify a story around it and make the data look meaningful.
After the project was completed, we visited Qibao.
Qibao is an ancient water town that was established during the Song dynasty; in Chinese it means ‘seven treasures'. There are different myths behind this name. One theory states the name was due to the steady financial growth of the town, another one talks about seven mysteriously appearing treasures - Buddha, bell, lotus scriptures, sacred trees, a gold chicken, a jade axe and jade chopsticks. Originally there were eight treasures, but apparently one was stolen, hence the name Seven Treasures!
River-based settlements like these are characteristic of harmony between nature and its natives where culture, architecture and history are meant to be mutually inclusive. Idyllic small-town settings like Qibao were designed to fulfill an erstwhile need for urban dwellers to retreat from the noise, development and pressures of a city. This also made it appealing to creators from different realms - be it writers, sculptors, calligraphers, artists which graced the area with a thriving patronage. The distance between such spaces and cities is shrinking; Qibao's Old Street is now punctuated with new boutique stores for tea, souvenirs etc. restaurants and cafes with popular street food. Old traditional architecture is bordered by pockets of make-do housing which bears testimony of a fast-developing city with a migrating population.
The view from a bridge. The two storeyed buildings reflect the typical traditional Chinese architecture and there are stone footbridges at various points over the Puhui River.
Qibao has only three bridges within the town. Although this one looks like a bridge it isn't one. See how the two vertical beams are balanced out with weights and a heavy piece of stone.
I think this was more like an ancient system to control the amount of water entering the canal.
Small empty alleys.
This is one of the modern constructions fashioned on the older traditional styles.
Residential units where each one is literally like a tiny room home to an entire family. A gate leading into a courtyard - leading to doors - leading to some homes - homes which have windows - windows leading to balconies - overlooking balconies.These are almost like the slums, or chawl systems one would see in Mumbai.
Open wiring - two wheelers - drying clothes - homes almost spilling onto the streets and alleys. A sign of a developing nation.
I chanced by this temple in a little lane. Couldn't help going into it out of curiosity and saw this statue.
It is a 'Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara Buddha'. Most South Asian temple cultures have a vibrantly designed floral altar decoration, with a lot of gold and red.
The offerings range from anything to everything - right from choco-pies, to eggs, to chewing gums ... basically anything you can offer or afford!
I have no idea what food are they selling in these beautiful packets. But I loved the packaging - so I had to share this shot. Getting a peek into Chinese graphic design and packaging.
Auspicious ceiling?
Appetizing and colorful street food are a popular feature of Qibao. My friend tried snails. I stuck to potatoes cooked in a spicy powder.
But I ventured far enough to eat in a local eatery with my friend where we tried a fish-head soup!
Literally served with a local river fish's head along with some crabs, prawns and other myriad creatures.
The bronze bell from the fabled seven treasures is located in the Bell Tower in Qibao Old Street. This being at the entrance of Qibao, tolling the bell is encouraged.
There is a guarantee for your wishes to come true by tying inscribed ribbons onto the nearby beams and seal the deal!
