Forbidden City renovation, Beijing, China, 2006 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fourteen: Expressing the meaning of buildings and structures > Forbidden City renovation, Beijing, China, 2006

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14-MAR-2006

Forbidden City renovation, Beijing, China, 2006

The most important parts of Beijing's famed Forbidden City are being completely renovated for the 2008 Olympic festivities. The largest of its buildings, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, is entirely covered in scaffolding, giving me a chance to make an image never before possible -- people at work in the sky over the imperial palace. I find this ballet in the sky to be more incongruous and abstract, as well as richer in human values, than any post card view of the building itself. Most visitors were disappointed that they could not see this world famous building. I was delighted by the renovation – it gave me, as the saying goes, a chance to make lemonade out of a lemon.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/250s f/5.6 at 39.5mm iso80 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	14-Mar-2005 18:13:16
Make	Panasonic
Model	DMC-FZ30
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	39.5 mm
Exposure Time	1/250 sec
Aperture	f/5.6
ISO Equivalent	80
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(10)
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis		08-Sep-2008 17:22
You are right, Cyndy -- this image says much about the balance between man and his creations.

Guest		08-Sep-2008 16:32
It's like a beautifully woven piece of cloth. I love the sense of balance in the image and how that parallels the balance of the workers.

Phil Douglis		03-Nov-2006 03:06
Thanks, Jeff -- the squarish format repeats the tiny squares in the scaffolding. And the criss-crossing diagonals, which are repeatedly embedded in the scaffolding and the position of the workers, drive the eye through the image again and again.

Guest		03-Nov-2006 02:57
The square format and strong diagonal make this picture come alive for me.

Phil Douglis		30-Oct-2006 21:44
Good to have you back in my galleries, Dandan. Yes, this is a maze, and to some, it may seem as if there is no way out for these people, trapped in a giant web of sticks. They are builders, and the maze they have built offers a structure in in itself. They are masters at finding their way.

Guest		30-Oct-2006 20:35
Phil, this looks like a giant maze to me, these people seems struggling to find their way out… but where does the way lead them to?

Phil Douglis		29-Jul-2006 19:30
I am delighted that you find this image worthwhile, Emi. This is an excellent example of a story telling by stressing process over result. The image is abstracted by those incredible sticks of bamboo, and as a result, the imagination of the viewer goes to work along with those tiny figures.

Guest		29-Jul-2006 12:07
This image is amazing, I wish I were there to take some pictures. Even I am a Chinese and have seen this kind of building method a million times in HOng Kong, I am still amazed and wonder how can they do that with bamboos? The picture shows the process and the part of the finished product, its better to show the final finshed building. As we always say process is more important than the result. Emi

Phil Douglis		01-May-2006 22:08
Thank you, as always, Celia, for seeing the ultimate message in this image. Yes, I agree. It goes beyond the renovation of a historic building. It certainly can be interpreted as a tribute to the human spirit itself, the nature of risk, and the need to preserve the pat.

Cecilia Lim		01-May-2006 19:51
I've always admired spiders for their amazing abilities to build huge and intricate webs many times larger than itself, and this image of men building this immense web of scaffolding are exactly like those amazing creatures . Except that the ultimate goal here is not to catch insects, but to catch the attention of the world after its completion - when all eyes focus on China for the 2008 Olympics! I think this is a brilliant, brilliant image - not only for its sheer incongruous visual impact - but for your expression about the greatness of man, in his ability to build colossal structures far beyond his size or needs, his willingness to take extreme risks, and his innate sense of preservation. This is easily one of my favourites from your series of China images Phil!

Phil Douglis		28-Apr-2006 19:40
I agree, Niall -- the simplest ideas are always the most expressive. And you are right. We go back in time here -- I am sure that this building was cloaked in a similar scaffold when it was originally built hundreds of years ago. In a way, this image is a form of time travel. Thanks for pointing that out.

type		28-Apr-2006 16:02
This must have been too good to resist. It's well and fine to point to the obvious contrast between modernity and the antique here but, in fact, scaffolding much like this was probably used to contruct the original. The simplest ideas are the best, as they say.

Phil Douglis		23-Apr-2006 04:12
Pick up sticks, indeed, Christine! Another incongruity, right? And yes, it is an impressive task. This palace is enormous.

Guest		23-Apr-2006 03:53
Every time I see this photograph, I keep thinking of the game of Pick-Up Stick I used to play where often, if you remove a stick, the whole scaffolding falls apart. This renovation project seems quite impressive. Christine

Phil Douglis		20-Apr-2006 17:03
And one of mine as well, Mo. I was lucky to see one of the most famous sights in China wrapped in a disguise, and being attended to by tiny men in the sky.

monique jansen		20-Apr-2006 13:42
This is another one of my favorites of your China trip.It has got atmosphere, tension, playfulness

Phil Douglis		19-Apr-2006 02:14
And in each case, Tim, the scale incongruity is staggering.

Tim May		19-Apr-2006 01:16
In a quirky way this reminds me of my image "Hiker" href="http://www.pbase.com/image/58522269 ">http://www.pbase.com/image/58522269 taken in Death Valley California - because scale places the people in a interesting relationship with their environment. Here a massive ethereal structure places the men in a unique relationship with the Hall of Supreme Harmony. My image places men in a wave of mountains.

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