Thanks, Micah, for finding this photo essay, and translating it. And at the bottom of Micah’s translation, he links to another piece of nostalgia. Actually, I really like that last one, some of the captions are brilliant. I won’t put the photos in this post, you can follow the link and see them yourself, but here’s a couple of examples of the captions:
那时侯围个“帕å?â€?å?ªæ˜¯ä¸ºäº†æ¼‚亮，基本上跟沙尘暴没有什么关系
At that time people wore a “kerchief” to look beautiful, by and large it had nothing to do with sandstorms.
那个时候光秃秃的墙上基本都写的ä¸?是拆å—
At that time, the words written on bare walls by and large were not “demolish”.
那个时候上天安门的人民群众基本上是�能��乱挥手的
At that time the crowds going to Tiananmen by and large couldn’t wave their hands about as they pleased.
So my translation is crap as per usual, but nevertheless, I think these short, little captions capture quite well a lot of the changes in Chinese society and the environment over the last thirty-odd years. Following the link and looking at the photos will show you even more.
Anyway, very interesting photo essays. Thanks, Micah, for finding these.
Those are a couple of fascinating links. I assume that one of the pictures in the first essay is the view from the Fragrant Hills as it was before they touristified the place.
I didn’t recognise any of the places, but you may well be right.