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I think this pic is nice because she isn't totally in it and the pic isn't just directed on her its directed on the leaves and she was trying to be more in the background
Kuanzhaixiangzi is a gentrified tourist spot in downtown Chengdu, China. Also known as “The Alleys” (by me, at least), it’s made up of three alleys within a five minute walk of Tonghuimen Station in the heart of Chengdu. The three alleys are Kuanxiangzi (Wide Alley), Zhaixiangzi (Narrow Alley), and Jingxiangzi. Someone told me “Jing” has something to do with a well (water-drawing well, that is).
I’m not sure whose idea this was, but it is a pretty nice area. If you could step back in time about ten years (2004, from what I can figure based on signs and pictures in the area), these were just three ordinary alleys: slightly run-down, though inhabited and typical of the area.
Fast forward ten years to the current and there is absolutely nothing that shows that people lived here except the pictures on the walls of Jingxiangzi. (I always found this an incredibly ironic aspect of tourism: destroy the old, replace it with inauthentic, and sell pictures of the old to make people think of what used to be…though the people who seem to lament the past are the ones who didn’t want to live in the past. Selective recollection…)
Psychology aside, what you’ll find in the alleys now are usually lots of tourists. Though, being an outsider, I have a hard time knowing who’s local and who’s not. Besides hordes of people, you’ll find quite a few teahouses (for which Chengdu is famous) where they seem to be trying to outdo each other in terms of decor. Art galleries, boutiques, souvenir shops, a few restaurants, bars with live music, and even an upscale hotel or two also abound here. The majority of those are located on Kuanxiangzi and Zhaixiangzi. Jingxiangzi, on the other hand, is the “afterthought” alley (perhaps why it’s not listed in the main Chinese name?).
Jingxiangzi is predominantly food stalls for local food and also stalls for local wares: handmade jewelry, paper cuttings, etc. Jingxiangzi is also the only one of the three that at least has – and tastefully done, in my opinion – pictures of the way the Alleys were before gentrification.
Lastly, the Alleys come replete with the one thing that makes this a truly authentic experience: Starbucks, right smack in the middle of the area. If you can clear your conscience of the fact that this is inauthentic and gentrified, this is a very, very photogenic area, by day or night. I’d recommend early morning (before 10:00, when tourist buses start to arrive) or slightly later in the evening (8:00-10:00) for shooting with less of a crowd. Personally, I’m glad that I live less than a five minute walk from here. I’ll probably head back to shoot again some morning this week.
here's one from my trip to Core Creek Park last week on that overcast, slightly rainy day.
This one lone coot was hanging around near the docks.
We had a rainy miserable day today. Have been saving this idea for a rainy day, and today was it. Can't take credit for the idea. This shot by Krissy_77 was my inspiration.
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