survival strategy iii - procession

at the northern entrance to qianmen dajie in beijing stands a "traditional" chinese "paifang" - an elaborate tripartite gate that signals the transition from the forbidden city area to this recently renovated shopping street. the scale of the gate is enormous, but its proportions seem to be fitting with the width of the street. the columns of the "paifang" rest atop 4 concrete bases, in front of which stand lion statues, acting as guardians to the street. the "paifang" acts not only as a landmark which tourists and locals alike can reference as a meeting spot, use as a backdrop for a photo opportunity, or admire as a "new-old" replica of a traditional chinese motif, but ultimately acts a portal-frame (as discussed earlier) and marks the genesis of a long axis of procession.

a casual stroll down the street reveals the regular rhythm of traditional chinese-drum-shaped street furniture, appearing in the form of benches, pots, rubbish bins, and even lanterns. this relentless procession and repetition of the drum motif adorn both sides of the avenue, as if trying to hark back or retroactively recall a past time when the "gulou" (drum tower) and "zhonglou" (bell tower) were the official time-keeping mechanisms of the people. the drum was also extensively used in the army as a means of keeping rhythm when marching, and even as a motivator in battle. alas, the original function and symbolism of the drum are but distant and faded memories, so the drum-shaped totems in qianmen dajie appear anachronistic, almost kitsch. further, the procession of the drum-totems reflect the repetition of shop fronts in the street facade, as if forcibly making the visitor take notice of the heavily commercial nature of the district; certainly, it is hard to forget.