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Mystery Sound
Normally, first thing in the morning (and before the big shops open at eight), the city's open spaces are used by the locals for their morning exercise - from badminton to Tai Chi.The Tai Chi groups...
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Reflecting
As the city quietens down at night it is possible to hear the space as the details of how the sound ricochets from one building to another becomes more apparent.Although the streets remain fairly...
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Mah Jong Heaven
In this city at least, the locals use their recreation time playing card games, chess, ‘mah jong’ (dominoes) or their version of the popular ‘scissors-paper-stone’ game, known locally as ‘hua cian’. A...
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Meeting Points
Chongqing city is at the meeting point of two large rivers: the river Jialing to the north and the Yangtze to the south. Where they meet is at Chaotianmen harbour - the most eastern tip of the Yuzhong...
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Walking The Bird
Perhaps the pet that makes the most significant sonic contribution to city life is the song bird. They can be heard early in the morning emanating from the grouped towers of flats when people wake and...
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Food
All over the city food related sounds contribute to the score of everyday life - from the hubbub of the huge indoor markets to the tiny tearing of wood when disposable chopsticks are separated. Apart...
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Traffic
The car is a recent phenomenon in China and is still driven according to cycling rules, where it is acceptable to overtake on either side, hop up onto the pavement or take risky shortcuts.About fifty...
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Trolleys
Trolleys are used in abundance throughout the city for the transportation of goods and come in a range of sizes. The largest are cart size that one would expect a horse to be pulling except the job is...
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Eel Fresco
Chongqing is full of unsupposing places to eat, and there seems to be no end to them as I investigate the myriad of lanes throughout the city. These eateries rarely consist of more than one room and...
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Rain
When it rains here, it pours, and the city is cleared of its usual traffic of pedestrian shoppers. Life still goes on however, although with an adjusted soundscape. With the streets cleared as people...
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Words of Encouragement
In contrast to the rest of the city, Chongqing’s electrically powered monorail trains run smoothly and quietly, moving with ease from one station to the next. The two city centre stations, unlike the...
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Buses
Buses are an essential part of China's travel network and as the cheapest form of public transport they are usually busy and hence filled with many conversations in the local dialect. Like the taxis...
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Endangered Sounds
As technology is becoming more used, the sounds associated with purely manual work are gradually being replaced. In many cases this also results in the loss of a direct relationship between work...
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Hot Pot
Connected with my installation are various outreach projects encouraging the Chongqingese to think about their sonic environment. Through posters, internet, the media, university seminars and schools...
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Anticipation
With just over a week to go before everything needs to be completed it's exciting to see all the various components of the installation beginning to come together. As well as creating the work I have...
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Stick Men
All around Chongqing, but especially in the area incorporating the city centre and harbour, are Chongqing's famous porters. For 2 Yuan they will carry whatever needs to be transported and deliver it...
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Amplification
The girls employed to stand on either side of the entrance of the various fashion boutiques simply shout. Most other shops make use of loudspeakers to either pump music onto the streets or announce...
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In Search of Silence
The city never turns off. There is always the continual whirr of what I guess are extractor fans. Their flat-line broadband noise is almost indiscernible during the day what with the traffic noise and...
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Steps
Perhaps my favourite place for sitting down and listening is on the steps of Chaotianmen harbour of an evening. At that time it is bustling with life and, in fact, it can be difficult to find somewhere...
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Schizophonia
There’s always the sound of some work being done in this city. In the centre it’s the far reaching sounds of construction; in the lanes it’s the smaller sounds of domestic industry: the most common...
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Musical Pathways
Perhaps the quietest place in Chongqing is a place called Ciqikou. This is an ancient town with a history of more than 1,000 years that has kept its traditional feel. The main thoroughfare suffers from...
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New for Old
A common response to my work is people’s realisation that many of the sounds that they are fond of are in fact dying out. When people think about it they realise that their favourite sounds, for...
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Parks
Scattered throughout Chongqing are various parks of different shapes and sizes. Although they offer visual solace from the busy city, their design often does not offer the audio equivalent. In my mind...
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Line Dancing
With my sound installation now complete and waiting for tomorrow's launch I thought I would relax this evening in the People's Square. As this is accessed by ascending steps from road level and then...
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Tallest Standards
The launch of my installation went well this morning. We had about 100 guests, from government officials to school children and loads of media people, and all seemed to make a connection with the work....
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