Streets of Kunming
The city of Kunming, capital of China's most culturally and ecologically diverse province, occupies a conflicted space in the rapidly urbanizing country. Pulled by the need to modernize and compete in the global marketplace and the need to maintain and protect its cultural legacy, the city finds itself at war with itself. Development is necessary to remain an economic powerhouse in the region, assuring continued prosperity for the future. But, as is seen elsewhere in China and the developed world, industrial and technological modernization is almost necessarily at odds with an agenda of protection for the environment. And while environmental concerns might fall to the push of modernization elsewhere, Yunnan's two largest economic drivers, tourism and agriculture, depend on a pristine environment. The government has erected China's first environmental police force in the region, in fact. Meanwhile, though, the city chugs along with construction and demolition, shopping and transportation. The city has come resemble most others in China in that respect, but there's an underlying awareness that the city's toll on the environment--those beautiful cloud-filled blue-sky days, the tree-covered hills and mountains, the actual honest-to-goodness wildlife that's disappeared from most of eastern China--must be addressed.
Travelers walk past a large bull sculpture outside the Kunming Railway Station in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A public health notice in Kunming, Yunnan, China, depicts an airplane representing the AIDS virus running into a skyscraper which is protected by a condom. A man walks past a closed shop in an old neighborhood marked for demolition in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Stuffed panda bear toys sit on a sidewalk in the Kunming Zoo in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Commuters wait for a public bus in downtown Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A bicyclist rides past partially-demolished old-style buildings in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A construction crane is seen reflected on the surface of a canal in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Men read a daily newspaper posted on a public noticeboard in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Workers' shoes, an empty food bowl, and a well-used map sit on a table in a partially-demolished old neighborhood in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Residential buildings stand against a cloudy morning sky in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Clouds fill the twilight sky over apartment buidings in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A man walks past a cell phone advertisement in the central shopping area of Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A newspaper seller sits inside a newsstand kiosk reading a newspaper in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Ducks prepared for roasting hang on a sidewalk outside of a restaurant in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A handwritten message meaning approximately "Too little, too late" remains in protest on the side of a building marked for demolition in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Crowds gather outside a long distance bus station near the Kunming Railway Station in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Crowds of people reach to grab discount coupons and jewelry in a merchant's giveaway in the central shopping district of Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A photo studio's billboard features funny pictures of costumed children and pregnant women in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Statues of lions and dinosaurs stand in the middle of a temporary carnival in Grand View Park in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. People walk past the doorway of a cheap hotel in an alleyway in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Military police (People's Armed Police) look over a crowd waiting to buy train tickets at the Kunming Railway Station for the Spring Festival peak travel period in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Brides and grooms stand outside of a wedding reception in central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Pedestrians walk past unfinished high-rise apartment buildings at night in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A woman wearing a facemask rides a bus in heavy traffic Kunming, Yunnan, China. A poster lists 33 breeds of dogs prohibited by the city government in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. The waitress in a small restaurant takes a break near the kitchen between serving customers in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. A parking garage attendant stands outside of the entryway in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
Pictures available for license at Photoshelter
photos by M. Scott Brauer
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