Building images of the past

Behind the scenes

Zhao has been interested in photography since college, where she majored in accounting. After graduation from Shaoguan University in Shaoguan, Guangdong, in 2017, she worked for a real estate developer in Guangzhou, but quit the job several months ago.

"Keeping an eye on buildings and urban development plans was a part of my job," Zhao says. "In recent years, as the urbanization in Guangzhou has accelerated, it is difficult for people, like me, to keep up, and abandoned buildings offer me an escape from the fast-paced life."

She still remembers the thrill when she entered her first wasteland-a dilapidated bicycle factory on the bank of the Pearl River in 2018. It was once one of the five main bike manufacturers in China.

Despite being with two friends, she could feel her heart racing while climbing the wall into the factory, which was built in 1960. Even though there were no machines inside, in Zhao's imagination, the factory was buzzing with activity.

"Entering the building, it seemed that time had stood still. Standing in the factory, I was immersed into the environment, imagining how busy the workers used to be," Zhao says.

The factory ignited her fascination with urbex photography.

While touring a disused movie theater, Zhao encountered a billboard advertising several movies that she had never heard of. One of them was Queen of Heart at Gunpoint released in 1986.

"Standing in front of the billboard, I was taken back to the 1980s and imagined that I was a moviegoer, thinking about which movie I'd want to see next time," Zhao says and smiles.