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Redesigning the past to visualize a road to the future

By Zhang Zixuan | China Daily | Updated: 2011-07-31 10:16

Redesigning the past to visualize a road to the future

Xu Duanduan shows his designs, inspired by the capital's Nanluoguxiang. Provided to China Daily

Xu Duanduan says his greatest childhood joy was running through Beijing's hutong (traditional alleyways) and he's paying homage to these old lanes with a new series of products.

The 22-year-old communication design major used the capital's Nanluoguxiang, or the South Gong and Drum Lane, as the core element of his capstone project for an undergraduate final project exhibition of Tsinghua University's Academy of Art and Design.

Built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Nanluoguxiang is one of Beijing's 25 historic areas. It's the country's largest and best-preserved hutong.

The ancient lane has been reincarnated as a modern fashion icon, chockablock with stylish bars and boutiques.

"I can't remember if Nanluoguxiang was one of the hutong that brought me joy as a boy," Xu says.

"But it can be the projection of every hutong I loved."

Xu prints cartoon images of Nanluoguxiang on scarves, water jugs, T-shirts, badges and bags.

He also designed a foldable paper map of the centipede-shaped block, which is formed by eight horizontal alleyways that cross a main road. It shows modern businesses and historical buildings that are now gone.

The map's back features an outline of the street with blank places for stickers that visitors can obtain from the actual locations to put on the map. This enables tourists to create personalized maps that show where they've been, Xu says. He's working to distribute the stickers among the stores, he says.

Another reason Xu chose to do his project on Nanlouguxiang is the popularity of Beijing's hutong tours, he says.

Xu's project supervisor and professor of Tsinghua's Academy of Art and Design, Ma Quan, says, "Fun designs for functional maps are a future travel industry trend. Xu's work has provided some inspiration and possibilities."

Xu spent three months visiting and poring over texts on Nanlouguxiang to complete the project. He then found factories to produce his designs.

Some criticize Nanluoguxiang's "over-commercialization". They say the opening of so many fashionable stores will deplete its historic significance.

Xu disagrees. Most buildings have been preserved, which Xu believes is most essential to the salvation of Nanluoguxiang's soul. The opening of the stores and bars is a rational use of space that promotes new Beijing's image. "Development is irreversible, and the past will eventually become a memory. I hope my design can be a channel for yearning."

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