Shanghai is one of the main cities of China, a major center of commerce, finance, manufacturing and transport. The economic reform of 1978 triggered a tremendous transformation of Shanghai, and amid the rapid economic growth since the 1990s, new buildings have replaced many traditional neighborhoods, and people’s lifestyles have changed. I am one who was born and raised in Shanghai, so I have a special attachment to the land that is Shanghai. And now I have decided to observe the changes accompanying its economic development by training my camera on the suburbs, which reveal aspects different from the city center.

A city is created by the activities of its people, and the people are shaped by the city. It is a relationship of mutual dependence. While the relationship may involve some opposition or conflict, clearly the presence of each is indispensable to the other. Society develops in keeping with the changing times. The city changes through economic development. By gazing at the contours of the city, I think it may be possible to imagine the features of the past and the shapes of the future. As I think about the future of Shanghai, I capture the appearance of the evolving Shanghai suburbs in photographs.