In the end of 2015, I found these two houses
The village is named Fengyangyi
So I name them Fengyang Mountain Compound
I’m an architect from Dali, Yunnan
I went to Germany to study in 2002
Then I returned to Dali in the end of 2019
I’ve been building houses in villages
In around 2012 or 2013
I knew that several houses in the village had been on fire from the news
On the second day, I came to visit the village and I was shocked
All the houses were built with stones
And in the center of the old village was an Ancient Tea & Horse Caravan Road with a history of several hundred years
I and two of my best friends
We loved drinking tea
So we wanted to have a place to have fun, to relax and to drink tea
That was my first time to renovate an old house
All the furnishing and decorations were removed
And the whole original structure was exposed
We sanded down the wooden parts
There was a stinky pigsty
We pulled down part of it
And the stones were moved out as step stones in the yard
And the outside courtyard
Tea pavilion is very important
The ultimate level is drinking tea alone
While watching the changing light and weather
The old house is cool indoors
The stone walls are really thick
And the hollowed-out doors and windows improve the ventilation
I also work here because it’s free from disturbance
As we just started
We decided to make the place a really open platform
Others can also use it for free
Sometimes my old friends just come in without asking
After we finished the southern house
We began the construction of the northern house
The tree is the soul of the yard
We sat around it, drinking tea under the pink-and-white blooms
The experience is different in each season
Such a yard is not for too many people
There were three rooms
I built a balcony
You can pick up plums from the tree when you reach out
My wife is also from Dali
She works in Hong Kong
Since the COVID-19 outbreak
I haven’t seen them for half a year
I got the time to go into the darkroom in recent months
I found out the films in the past years and enlarged them
As I saw my two daughter in the developing tray
Memories came sweeping back
So I really enjoy enlarging their pictures
It’s maybe communicating with them or with myself
I was influenced by my father to develop interest in photography
As soon as my younger girl was born
I took a picture of her
When I was waiting for my elder daughter
I hanged around on the streets of Hong Kong
During my work time, I often shoot the workers on the construction site
The ethnic female workers carry bricks, sand and so on
They might be shy and hide from my camera
But one time I gave them the photos
They were really happy
With a big smile on the face
I always see myself as a countryman
And I’ve been thinking over the years
What should a rural house be like
But as I do and see more projects
I feel being further away from a standard answer
But I think experiencing rural life is a must
Because if you don’t have such experiences
Your design would be untenable