China's Demolition Economy
The converse of China's rapid construction and development is a huge, patchwork demolition economy. In order to make room for the high-rises and hypermarkets, the country's narrow residential alleyways (hutongs) and other fixtures of Old China need to be razed and repurposed. The old buildings are marked, and then come the heavy machines and scavengers with mallets and blowtorches. There's value in the old buildings, from wooden doors to the rebar in their concrete walls and floors, and a small, movable economy sets up wherever there's destruction to be done.
A man walks among rubble and downed wires as new construction begins in a partially demolished area of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Workers break away bricks and concrete to find rebar and other metals for salvage in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Construction workers return to a demolition site after lunch in the old section of central Kunming, Yunnan, China. Workers salvage rebar and other usable materials from the site of a previously demolished residential building in the old district of central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Welders look over a demolition site where hutongs, small residential alleys, once stood in the center of Tianjin, China. A local resident said that the relocated residents were compensated for their houses but it was "not enough." Tianjin has demolished almost all of the hutongs in the city to make way for "modern" construction projects. Workers break away bricks and concrete to find rebar and other metals for salvage in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. A mandarin chinese character (in white circle) spray-painted on the side of a building indicates the building will soon be demolished in Tianjin, China. The building stands in the former site of a hutong, a traditional Chinese residential alleyway, which is being demolished to make way for the construction of modern high-rise buildings in central Tianjin, China. Workers demolish residential buildings in a small suburban village east of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Pedestrians and bikes pass between heavy trucks moving into a demolition area to begin new construction projects in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Men walk past destroyed hutongs, or traditional Chinese residential alleys, in central Tianjin, China, which have been demolished to make room for modern high-rise building construction. Discarded food containers float in a puddle in a partially demolished area in Tianjin, China. Advertisements for moving companies adorn a partially demolished residential building in central Tianjin, China. Workers break away bricks and concrete to find rebar and other metals for salvage in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. A man looks out onto a previously demolished area that will be developed into high-rise apartment buildings in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Though the old buildings aren't yet fully demolished, cranes have already moved in to begin the new construction. Workers break away bricks and concrete to find rebar and other metals for salvage in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Salvaged home furnishings, including mirrors and doors, stand by the roadside for sale in a demolition area where houses once stood in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. A woman sells shoes on the side of a street in a demolished area where traditional Chinese residences once stood. The area will be developed with high-rise apartments and shops. A man looks out over the demolition in what used to be a neighborhood in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. A girl watches television in a makeshift hut in the middle of a partially demolished area in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The area will be developed into high-rise residential housing such as the buildings visible in the background. The girl's family finds salvageable material in demolition areas to resell.
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photos by M. Scott Brauer
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