- Architect -

The image I had of China -the so-called ‘giant’- before getting there, bares no resemblance to the memories I gained. It is a country full of contradictions, impulses, changes that cause you a distinct concern or better curiosity about what you are about to encounter moving a few blocks further.

The profound changes in the landscape, parks that are intermixed in the dense urban grid, the coexistence of modern buildings with a background of pagodas, the crowded flea markets among the expensive shopping malls that have penetrated the market, the hesitation of the Chinese towards anything unfamiliar in contrast to the openness they show towards each other, all create a striking puzzle of contradictions.

We took a 13-day trip to -what I would call- the two capitals of China, since Beijing is considered the political center of the country and Shanghai the economic.

Through the architravel we were given the opportunity to observe the city from a more architectural point of view, thanks to the participation of colleagues who share the same passion with us to discover even the most remote corner of the cities, thus forming in this trip yet another architectural ʽmapʼ as a souvenir.

A group of 51 people, who day by day discovered pieces of the puzzle that forms the modern China that is now waking up...