September 27, 2010

A Yellow Mop

Sort of like vintage cars and historic houses everywhere, interesting looking buildings in China have been razed to the ground to make way for the new and the modern. I lament that, sometimes. So often the new just doesn't seem to pass the tests of time or tastefulness, especially in developing countries.

The county of Kaiping is perhaps far enough south from the rich industrial belt along the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong that the bulldozers haven't found it yet. The town still has many ornate old buildings like this one...

Kaiping, 2010

Excuse me my mischief of leaving the mop yellow in this desaturated photo, but you see, I wanted to join the fun at Mellow Yellow Monday. And for those of you who prefer the original color, this is a closer view of the windows with the mop. 


Do click on the link to find many more creative images with yellow.

17 comments:

dianasfaria.com said...

Love how you did this for MYM!

diane b said...

Love your blog, not only great photos but interesting text too. I hope this lovely old building never gets bulldozed. Love the yellow mop too.

VP said...

I am always looking for patches of color: this one really stands out!

BlossomFlowerGirl said...

I think I prefer the first photo - the buildign looks like a grand old dame. Clever use of the mop. I also lament when old buildings are pulled down to make way for the new which very often lack the style and architectural delights of their older cousins.

Joanne said...

What a surprise, I wouldn't have said this was a chinese building. I am going to look up this region, you travelled extensively in China, what a great trip:)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

next time you go, go and visit my cousins. LOL They lived 4 hours bus ride form Guong Zhou.

Anonymous said...

I prefer the first photo - the person, who painted the blue color, was not very good at the work :(
...and not a word about, I thought to see a yellow pug (in Danish we call the dog Moppe :)

Unknown said...

Lovely architecture! Glad the bulldozers haven't found this county yet!

Lowell said...

Well, I think the desaturated photo is fine; but I like the non-desaturated photo better...actually, I think the yellow mop stands out more in the color shot.

Anyway, I agree about bulldozing beautiful old structures to make way for ticky tacky, crappy new ones.

But I'm so surprised that you might think I'd dare fool with a photo like the bench/window thing on Ocala DP! Tsk, tsk. You know I'd never do that! Heh, heh.

But no, in this photo there is no embellishment whatsoever. No "rats" in other words...

Just me...that's what you smelled. What?

Rajesh said...

Absolutely true. New buildings do not pass the time and tastefulness. They are beautiful

EG CameraGirl said...

Hahaha! Love your yellow mop. Aren't you clever? :)

Kim, USA said...

This makes me smile, you are clever!
Wall of fruits

Chubskulit Rose said...

Vintage structure, a beauty.

Optimistic Yellow, have a great week!

Kay L. Davies said...

Gorgeous as always, Francisca. I love both photos, and the humorous aspect of the yellow mop.

Kay, Alberta

Unknown said...

What a beautiful building.

tapirgal said...

I like the second one much better. The top one is nice in a Life Magazine kind of way, but I love the colors in the second one - the blue trim AND the mop. The only good thing about some of the ugly modern buildings is that they don't seem to last very long (relatively). But too long for comfort. I wish they would replace my old 50s-ugly grammar school with something nice. It doesn't bring back the nice old styles, but I know they can do better!

James said...

I like the contrat between the monochrome and the bright yellow mop. :) I also like the look of the old building.