Grandma’s Tongzi Lou

Tongzi Lou---- The sample house, filled with communist ideals, is drifting farther and farther away from these times. Back in the late 1950s, when everyone was shouting communism was paradise and the People’s Commune was the bridge, three buildings known as People’s Commune houses buildings were built in Beijing, which were based around the question of what kind of architecture was needed for communism? These buildings embodied the aspirations of the capital and the whole nation for a communist life, as well as people’s desire of an advanced living environment and harmonious community. With the arrival of a group of elite residents, the buildings could be described as the epitome of socialism.

But just as it was about to reach its peak, communism took a sharp turn for the worse. As the priorities of society shifted, these buildings have fallen into disrepair and are now littered with dust, mottling, and rubbish. Now that the generation that waited for the realization of Communism has aged, the buildings with the imprint of that era are also disappearing.

I turned my camera on my grandmother and her neighbors to explore the unusual and unique way of life in which she lived here. When my grandfather was a young soldier he moved with his army into Tongzi Lou, which was converted from a music hall. And when he died of illness, my grandmother was left alone to raise their three daughters. With all her daughters getting married and starting a family, she lived here alone.