This is a digital representation of the shifting cityscape in Chu T’ien-hsin’s novella “The Old Capital” (translated by Howard Goldblatt).
North Gate
“Back then, North Gate had yet to be tyrannized by an overpass, so you could walk past it casually, feeling like one of your ancestors heading out of town a century before.” (Chu 113)
Presidential Office
“The building was less than four decades older than you, but it gave the impression of being old and decrepit.” (Chu 119)
Grand Hotel
“Within the next two or three years, the remaining Japanese Shinto shrines would be cleared away from Maruyama and replaced by the Chinese palace-style Grand Hotel for foreign VIPs.” (Chu 128)
