Labor Pains

• Photographer
  Haoming Cao

We captured the final moments of these Shanghai lilong buildings with our cameras. When architecture from the old era encounters the transformations of the new age, these century-old shikumen buildings are on the verge of demolition. As red wooden planks seal off the alleyways, they also seal away the city's culture and memories. Behind every alleyway and wooden door barricaded by red planks lies a tale of farewell and rebirth. And it is these very stories that have shaped Shanghai into what it is today.