Talking of Suzhou – Back in 2002

Talking of the calmness of Suzhou yesterday, but the rather sad loss of many gates and some longtang, I found these pictures taken in 2002 (sorry, due to moves, floods, and whatever I have very few pre-digital hard copy pictures to scan in)….

The almost total loss of the few longtang in Suzhou should of course make the preservation of those in Shanghai all the most urgent and precious…though that is not sadly the case; in fact quite the reverse – it seems total extinction of the architectural form is the only end result.

canals just pre-clean up – some of the waterside buildings were lost

An example of Suzhou longtang – slated for demolition in 2002 and so long gone now

entry gate to a Suzhou longtang – in the process of being demolished in 2002

(i actually tried to buy the carved stones over the arch – the demolition crew were ready to do a deal, but a local CCP cadre arrived with some cops and insisted I f**k off sharpish)