IF YOU WERE HERE, OLD BEIJING

In 1950, Liang Sicheng, a famous Chinese scholar, proposed a plan to preserve Beijing’s ancient city when the authorities were planning the development of Beijing, the capital of China. However, the city walls were still rapidly demolished. Watching Beijing gradually disappear, he lamented, “Fifty years from now, history will prove that I was right.”
We tell the story of a photographer who accidentally obtains a magical camera from his uncle — a camera that allows him to see Beijing’s ancient architecture through its viewfinder. By compositing historic buildings from old photographs into a VR environment, we hope, on the one hand, to show people what Beijing’s ancient architecture would look like if it were still there. On the other hand, we hope to provoke reflection — how should we treat historical architecture in the context of urban development.