Xian Cun

In modern China, urbanization has resulted in rapid development, turning old settlements into wealthy and modern urban centers. Xian Cun, one of the most notorious old villages still visible in Guangzhou's city center today, is shadowed by the high rises of Guangzhou's most modern district Zhujiang New Town. Zhujiang New Town is planned as the city's new CBD for the 21st century. And yet, the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou has hastened the pace of transformation, putting Xian Cun residents in the line of fire. Despite numerous attempts, an agreement on land development and compensation has never been reached between authorities and the local villagers. Over the past decade, the village has been under violent demolition, with dozens of buildings crumbling into mountains of rubble. Over 80 villagers who stood up against the authorities were arrested and a long stalemate began.

Today, the village is a final testament to the Zhujiang New Town that once was. Xian Cun is a ghostly shell of a community. This impoverished neighborhood carries on struggling for the last breath and being forgotten, with only a few villagers who are holding their grounds for the broken homes.