Chongqing- Recently, The Southwest Now and Then: A Sino-German Photography Dialogue was opened at Shancheng Alley, Chongqing. It displays images and documents of Fritz Weiss, former Consul General of Germany, and his wife Hedwig Weiss-Sonnenburg left during their travel to southwest China and contemporary works by several Chinese and German photographic artists.
There is an exhibition area in an air raid shelter, which is open to the public for free from December 4, 2021, to January 4, 2022. The historical image materials of many parts of Chongqing enable visitors to feel the city's changes in the past century.
Wang Yuanling, curator in charge of the "DIY Creative Shared Space," serving as a guide (photo provided to iChongqing)
After the exhibition's opening, Wang Yuanling, curator in charge of the "DIY Creative Shared Space," guided the guests around the exhibition area to feel the changes of southwest China in the past century through viewing the materials of Mr. Fritz Weiss 100 years ago. That facilitated the continuous development of China-Germany friendly exchanges and became a highlight of the exhibition in Chongqing.
Exhibition area in an air raid shelter (photos provided to iChongqing)
It is worth mentioning that the cluster of air raid shelters at Shancheng Alley is well preserved. Besides the exhibition area in an air raid shelter, there is also a documentary hall and a projection hall connected by sinuous paths underground. By virtue of the natural effect of sound mixing in the air-raid shelter, the documentary hall gives visitors an immersive experience. The projection hall retains rugged walls, which can display three-dimensional effects to enrich visitors' visual experience.
Curator Wang Huifeng said, "Many photographic exhibitions are staged in specialized venues, lacking regional characteristics. Therefore, we did something different. We have not only exhibited historical documents and contemporary images but also created an immersive audio-visual space comprising audio files of the Yi people and boat trackers along the Three Gorges recorded by Mr. Fritz Weiss during his travel to southwest China."
Visitors can also view the photos of the southwest region 100 years ago and film and TV materials in the 1990s. The documentaries show Chongqing's urban changes and development with such elements as people's daily life and buildings at Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, Shangqing Temple, Shancheng Alley, and other places.