陆苗 Lu Miao（中国摄影在线）

male, born in Shanghai, China.

In 1990, he joined a photo studio and began his career in photography.

In 1991, he was admitted to the School of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, majoring in photography.

Since 1997, he has been engaged in photographic post-production and advertising image retouching.

Over more than two decades after 1997, he has produced advertising images for renowned brands including L’ORÉAL, ESPRIT and LEVI’S.

In 1999, he undertook the post-production for the exhibition Epic of the Great Wall — Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China by the celebrated master photographer and visual artist Mr. Chen Changfen.

In 2000, he participated in the 5th Shanghai International Photography Exhibition and was awarded the Excellent Production Award.

During the 2001 Shanghai APEC Meeting, he was commissioned by the Shanghai Municipal Government to produce the photography exhibition Shanghai through Foreigners’ Eyes, as well as the subsequent Shanghai–Hamburg Sister City Image Exhibition held in Hamburg, Germany.

In 2025, he participated in the shooting and production of the photography exhibition Peaceful Moments held at the Marriott Art Gallery in Macao.

By Lu Miao

Since its opening as a treaty port in 1843, Shanghai has undergone a century of dramatic changes. Many things have vanished with time, yet much remains undiminished, settling into stories and evolving into modern urban cultural symbols with distinct Chinese characteristics.

As a native Shanghainese, I was born and raised here, as were my ancestors and parents. My affection for this city is ingrained in my bones, which is why I have always chosen photography as a way to record it. Photography itself is an imported art form with a history even longer than Shanghai’s opening as a port. Once captured solely by film cameras, it is now easily practiced on mobile phones. The widespread popularity of this habit of recording is inseparable from China’s development, urban opening-up and ongoing transformation.

Shanghai is home to many outstanding photographers. Some focus on nature, some on novelty and exploration, while others engage with social themes and conceptual expression. I deeply admire and respect such creations. For me, however, all forms of artistic expression ought to stem from care, attention and compassion. Undoubtedly, what I care about and know best is this city, its way of life, and its people.

I began shooting what lay within my sight more than a decade ago. I seek to use my familiar photographic language to capture time hidden in the brick walls of alleyways, between towering buildings, and spread across both banks of the Huangpu River. The cultural roots embedded in everyday urban life allow me to touch something deeper beneath the surface.

Present-day Shanghai features an ever-changing skyline, while the Bund remains bustling. The air is occasionally filled with the scent of roses mingled with coffee — this is the “new Shanghai” experienced by many visitors.

In my series Both Banks of the Huangpu River, I intend to employ the fundamental language of photography — light and shadow, composition, and the decisive moment — to freeze the layered historical traces woven between Shanghai’s forced opening in modern times and its proactive opening-up in the reform era.

From a plain, down-to-earth perspective, I document the remains of old textile mills. They embody Shanghai’s foundation as a major textile hub and preserve the collective memory of clothing production under industrial civilization. For the meat-processing plant dating back to the 1930s, I capture dappled light and shadow on weathered walls, recording the imprint of food culture shaped by the encounter of external demands and local life. Today, many young people still visit the site, drawn by its unique cultural aura.

At the century-old Yangshupu Waterworks, I photograph pipelines stretching toward the Huangpu River and the endless flow of water, their intersecting lines outlining the continuity of modern residential civilization. At shipyards, towering cranes, massive docks and factory buildings are shot from a low angle, revealing the industrial strength that underpins modern transportation. Crowds traveling on ferries are candidly framed, embodying the city’s enduring tolerance toward population mobility across eras.

These frozen fragments of daily life — clothing, food, housing and transportation — preserved through photographic language are not merely memories for native Shanghainese, but have also become accepted cultural symbols for new residents of the city.

Through my lens, I strive to record the inner confidence of Shanghai as a benchmark of modernization: its modernity carries historical depth, and its inclusivity embraces diverse warmth. All of this lies quietly within the ordinary urban life I know so well.