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We’ve seen how Chinese beauty has changed over the past 100 years, but what about the landscape itself?

China, a country with a history that spans thousands of years, has experienced an exponential amount of change in just the last century alone, from the prominence of the Kuomintang, invasion by the Japanese, Communist rule, to its economic expansion as the world’s largest trading power.

This cumulation of changes over such a short period has forever left its mark on face of the nation, and perhaps can be seen most visibly through this powerful set of images by photographer Dheera Venkatraman, comparing and contrasting old shots of different Chinese cities with how they appear today.

▼ Yibin

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▼ Guangzhou

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▼ Hangzhou

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▼ Lanzhou

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▼ Xi’an

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▼ Shanghai

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Venkatraman took considerable efforts to re-take each shot with the same perspective and focal length as the originals, proving especially difficult in some instances where the angle was obstructed by other additions to the area’s surroundings.

Despite this, most images are near-perfect mirrors of each other, offering a clear view of not only changes to China’s landscape, but the daily lives of the country’s citizens.

Whether these differences are viewed as negative or positive depends on the person, but Venkatraman says his goal was to provide viewers with something to reflect on. You can take a peek at the full project, Time Traveling in China, here.

Source: Dheera.net via Ufunk.net
Feature/insert images: Dheera.net