Growing Up With Shanghai: Quyang Lu | 与沪成长- 曲阳路




Listen | 聆听
Soundcloud | 虾米

Look | 凝视
Sway | 微博


Lisa带着我们穿过曲阳路家乐福后面的小区。她的幼儿园、小学和初中都在她长大的这块区域,所以可以说她童年的美好记忆都和这里有关。自从她和家人搬走之后,她很少再回来这里。

这个小区属于学校的学区房,也就是说,住在这一区的小孩可以直接在这些学校上学。这也意味着这一区房子的价钱会更高,尤其是还不错的学校学区房更贵,这几个学校就是这样。在她的记忆里,她以前经常和朋友还有老师在这里玩耍,后来这里发生了一些改变,比如新建了封闭的公共垃圾堆区域,改变不大,但十分必要。她记忆里最大的改变是这些当地的商店。2017年,上海的街道样貌经历了一些巨大的变化。沿街的小的当地商店都关门了,有的甚至被拆除了。店面都用砖围砌了起来,和共用或者废弃的民用住宅合成了一体。尽管这样做减轻了城市的交通和人口拥挤问题,这些曾经为每条街道增添色彩的特色小商店都消失了,改变了社区的本身的面貌和生气。

2013年在这里完成实地录音之后,我就再也没有回来过。2018年4月,我和沈祎一起再次到访,为这个录音专辑拍摄照片的时候,这些商店都已经关门了。你可以从专辑封面看到,一些商店挂着标示,告诉人们在这墙壁后,他们仍然在正常营业。我仍然记得家乐福旁边人行道沿路还有密云路沿街的这些小商店。你可以听到曾经这里是多么嘈杂和热闹。而现在只剩下这录音收录的声音和故事背后的一些隐形的记忆。

Lisa takes us through her neighborhood behind the Carrefour complex on Quyang Lu. She takes us from the Carrefour through her quiet neighborhood. Her kindergarten, elementary, and middle school are in the city block she grew up in so the better part of her childhood took place here. Ever since her family moved out, she has rarely come back to visit.

The neighborhood is part of the school’s 学区房 meaning that any resident living in the immediate area can attend these schools. This usually means the rents are higher especially if the schools are good like the ones here. Her memories reveal the places where she used to play with her friends and teachers, as well as some small, but necessary, changes such as the enclosed public trash can area. The biggest change from her story are the local stores. In 2017, the streetscapes of Shanghai had a major change. All the small local stores along the streets were closed and some even demolished. Storefronts were bricked up and integrated into the residential building they shared or just left abandoned. While this alleviated a lot of traffic and people congestion throughout the city, small and unique local businesses that defined every street were now gone, changing the identity and the dynamic of the community.

I hadn’t visited the area since I made the recording in 2013, but when I went back in April (2018) with Shen Yi to take the photos for this book, the commercial areas had all been closed. As you can see on the cover, some stores hung signages out to say that they were still open behind the wall. I remembered all the small stores lining the pedestrian street beside Carrefour and along Miyun Lu. You can hear how noisy and lively things were. Now they are just invisible memories captured with the sound and story of this recording.