Symposium explores photography's role in preserving 20th-century architecture

Wei Shuxiang, a professional architectural photographer from Northeast Heilongjiang province, shared a series of photographs of protected buildings along the historic Chinese Eastern Railway. Built by the Russians and completed in the early 1900s, the railway runs from Manzhouli on the Hulunbuir grasslands to Suifenhe on the Russian border.

In Wei's striking compositions, which balance light and shadow, buildings such as the former residence of the Suifenhe railway officer, Harbin's Jihong Bridge, and the puppet "Manchukuo" regime-era police station in Boketu Town blend with their environments, while human activity is a subtle presence.

"I like my photos of architecture to include people because architecture exists to serve people. Images without people feel a bit soulless to me," he said.