Hearing the news, Tielumiao Village, located east of the Dayan Pagoda and north of Xiying Road in Xi'an, and adjacent Wangjia Village and Guanyinmiao Village, were demolished and renovated, and were allowed to enter the village to shoot, so they immediately went there. Arriving at the demolition site, I found that many residents had moved away, most of the houses were empty, and they were all being demolished. Only some scattered families have not had time to move out due to special reasons. In the empty village, dilapidated buildings and ruins left behind after demolition can be seen everywhere.

During several filming sessions, I listened to the elderly in the village talk about the historical origins of these villages and the changes in recent decades, and gradually gained some understanding of these villages. Regarding Tielu Temple Village, according to the "Shaanxi Tongzhi" records,"Tielu Temple is located in Baopoli, 5 miles southeast of Xianning County, and was built during the Tang Dynasty." It is inferred from this that Tielu Temple became a village in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and other villages have a long history, but there is no record.

Speaking of the changes in these villages, we can trace back to the 1950s. Most of the villagers lived in caves dug along the bank of Leyouyuan. Later,"Xia Oifang" came into being. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that brick houses were gradually built and built higher and higher, forming a typical "village in the city."

In the village that is now being demolished, there is no longer the dense flow of people and the excitement it once was, and the various shops and food stalls have become a thing of the past. I shuttled through the potholes and uneven ruins, using my camera to record the last "scene" of the village. Time leaves traces, and images remain. With the acceleration of urbanization, the special concept of "village" will adapt to the old transformation of urbanization and become people's memory!

Railway Temple Village under demolition (photographed in Tielumiao Village in 2020, August, and 22)

Tielumiao Village Street (photographed in Tielumiao Village in 2020, August and 21)

Wangjiacun Street (photographed in Wangjiacun on 2020, July and 30)

Guanyinmiao Village Street (photographed in Guanyinmiao Village on 2020, July and 27)

This old man is from Guanyinmiao Village and is telling us the history of Guanyinmiao Village with eloquence. (Taken in Guanyinmiao Village on 2020, July and 27)

There are no children playing in Guanyinmiao Village Kindergarten (photographed in Guanyinmiao Village in 2020, August and February)

These children who had moved away from Guanyinmiao Village returned to the village together to play beside the ruins. (Taken in Guanyinmiao Village on 2020, July and 29)

When people are used to living in one place, they will have nostalgia for every grass, tree, brick and tile here. In particular, some elderly people have the traditional concept of being content with their homeland and find it difficult to give up their homeland. (Taken in Guanyinmiao Village in 2020, August and February)

Uncle Wang is in his seventies, and his son has passed away. There are four people in the family, including his wife, daughter-in-law, and grandson. They are about to move away soon. The old man is a little sad when he mentions his son. (Photographed in Wangjia Village in 2020, July, and 30)

During the period of rapid urbanization, old demolition and renovation will gradually disappear into the public's sight of crowded and dirty urban villages. The old and the new are changing, and people who leave the villages in the city due to demolition will gradually adapt to the new way of life as their living conditions improve. (Taken in Tielumiao Village on 2020, November and 9)

Jinmen.com author Ji Qiuhua