On November 18th, a video went viral.
The video is a compilation of 30 fixed-point photographs taken of the Oriental Pearl Tower area, yet without capturing the tower itself. Instead, it solidly documents the entire process of the expansion of the “social circle” around the Oriental Pearl Tower. Accompanied by stirring music, the Lujiazui Central Green, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Shanghai Tower successively “grow” up.
This video was created by Yao Jianliang to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oriental Pearl Tower. He joined the Shanghai Lujiazui Development Corporation (now Lujiazui Group) in 1992 and has been taking photos from a fixed point along Century Avenue to the east since the Oriental Pearl Tower was completed and opened in 1994, continuing this practice for 30 years.
Yao Jianliang has been engaged in photography for nearly 50 years, but this was his first time making a video. To vividly showcase the yearly changes in Lujiazui, he spent time from the morning of the 17th until the early hours of the 18th, meticulously layering and calibrating the 30 photographs. His eyes were strained, but his heart was filled with excitement. He said, “This video made many ‘old developers’ like me feel thrilled and teary-eyed.”
[Yao Jianliang’s Account]
I studied engineering construction management and also enjoy photography. I refer to photographing Lujiazui as my “photography project,” which involves selecting a specific location and capturing the changes in Lujiazui from the same spot and angle every year.
In 1993, due to work reasons, I took an aerial photograph of Lujiazui by plane. The Oriental Pearl Tower was the only tallest building there, and since it was going to be open to the public, it was relatively easy to capture. If I were to take fixed-point photographs, the Oriental Pearl Tower would be the ideal location.
Model of Lujiazui and aerial view of Lujiazui. Photo credit: Yao Jianliang
Over the years, due to some irresistible external forces, the spot where I took photographs of the Oriental Pearl Tower has changed four times, moving up and down, but the perspective has remained the same.
In 1994, when the Oriental Pearl Tower opened for business, the observation deck at 268 meters was the first spot where I took fixed-point photographs. In 1995, with the opening of the observation deck at 339 meters in the Oriental Pearl Tower’s space capsule, I chose a higher position, beneath the lower sphere of the space capsule, for my fixed-point photography. In 2012, when the lower sphere was closed, I changed my shooting location to the upper sphere of the space capsule, capturing the Shanghai Tower, which was previously not within the frame, for the first time. In 2022, due to internal renovations, the original spot was closed, and now my shooting location is just a car windshield-sized window, but I will never give up.
One thing that left a deep impression on me was that one day in 1995, Wang Ande, the general manager of Lujiazui Development Corporation where I worked at the time, called me to his office and assigned me a task: to go to the Oriental Pearl Tower and take detailed photos of Xiaolujiazui from various angles and scenes. Since I had already started this photography work and accumulated some experience, I quickly submitted the photos to my supervisor.
After seeing the photos, Wang Ande pondered for a moment. I could understand his mood at that time: looking down from a high place, the entire Xiaolujiazui was densely packed with old residences and factories, gray and dull like moss growing on the ground. In the distance, within the 28 square kilometers of the development area, it was a rural-urban fringe with fields. The development and construction of Lujiazui had a long way to go!
Aerial view of the construction of the central green space. Photo credit: Yao Jianliang
In 1996, the construction of the Lujiazui Central Green was initiated. To document this entire development process in detail, I went to the Oriental Pearl Tower 23 times at my own expense. The relocation and resettlement of over 3,500 households and the construction of a 100,000-square-meter green park in 11 months were a miracle of Pudong development.
Aerial view of Lujiazui. Photo credit: Yao Jianliang
In 2011, a globally renowned British television organization planned to produce a documentary reflecting the development of 20 new cities around the world over the 20 years before and after the 21st century. Upon seeing these photographs, the British director was amazed and decided to come and understand Pudong, filming Lujiazui on site. The director said to me, “These are the most systematic and complete images of urban development I have found globally. This set of textbook-like historical documentary photographs should make those stubborn politicians and critical critics shut up forever about China.”
View of Lujiazui Financial City from the balcony of the Peace Hotel. Photo credit: Yao Jianliang
In 2015, with the completion of the Shanghai Tower and the basically completed development of the Lujiazui area according to the plan, I still recorded it every year. However, apart from weather conditions, there were no more significant changes in the overhead view. But as long as my physical condition allows, I will continue to take photographs. After watching from the Oriental Pearl Tower for so many years, the scenery outside is always refreshing to me.
Besides the Oriental Pearl Tower spot, there is another location I have continuously recorded for 30 years: capturing Pudong from the balcony of the Peace Hotel in Puxi. At the beginning of the year, the TV series “Bloom” was popular. Every time I passed Huanghe Road, I thought of the lively scenes in the series and, in a daze, saw the rising financial city on the opposite bank of the Huangpu River. This is the sequel to “Bloom” and also the effort of our generation.