Memories of the East Street in Xi'an
Book for Xi'an Catering Co., Ltd
The Memories of the East Street in Xi'an is a slice-by-slice study of the city of Xi'an. The entire book contains hand-drawn illustrations, architectural mapping, trademark advertisements, documentary photographs, and newspaper copies. At the same time, a variety of printing techniques are used to fully reflect the editor's original concept of presenting and reconstructing local memory through artistic intervention.
Download Press Kit № 152804
Download Press Kit № 152804 Book for Xi'an Catering Co., Ltd by Qun Song to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.
Available Now for Your Next Story
At design|newsroom, we understand the pressures and deadlines journalists face. That’s why we offer exclusive access to our curated press kits and high-resolution images, tailored for accredited journalists. These resources are designed to enrich your stories with depth and visual appeal, spotlighting the world's most innovative designs.
Please Note:
- Credit the work's creator and/or photographer.
- Mention design|newsroom as your source.
- Share your published pieces with us; we love to celebrate and promote your work on our platform and social media.
Let’s Collaborate: Your stories matter. design|newsroom is here to support you with quality, accessible content. Once you are accredited, reach out for the images and content you need. We will provide the specific images and content directly, along with recommendations on works to feature.
Get Accredited Easily: Quick access to our resources requires media accreditation. Apply for media accreditation to join our network and start exploring a wealth of design stories.
Memories of the East Street in Xi 039 an by Qun Song
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Book by Qun Song
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Qun Song Memories of the East Street in Xi 039 an
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Qun Song Book
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Xi 039 an Catering Co LtdBrand Logo
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Unique Properties
The book "Memories of the East Street in Xi'an: Images, Words and Narratives" is a slice-by-slice study of the city of Xi'an. The entire book contains hand-drawn illustrations, architectural mapping, trademark advertisements, documentary photographs, and newspaper copies. At the same time, a variety of printing techniques are used to fully reflect the editor's original concept of presenting and reconstructing local memory through "artistic intervention".
Tags
City Memory, Social Culture, Local Culture
Production Technology
This book tries to restore the memory of the times with various printing processes. The first unit uses the iron bicycle license plate from the 1980s as the cover and uses the embossing process. The cover of the second unit shows the advertisements of the businesses on East Street and the cover of the third unit shows the photographs taken in the 1970s. Both of them were printed in silver to enhance the meaning of historical marks. The photographs in the third unit are printed in a special black embossed silver process, imitating the effect of silver salt photographs, to restore the documentary and historical sense of the photographs.
Design Challenge
The most difficult part would be the lack of information. There are very few documents, images, and photographs of Xi'an over the past hundred years. Our team went through almost all the public cultural institutions in order to collect the relevant materials. Given the lack of information, it is especially important to record and organize the urban memories and oral narratives of ordinary citizens.
Project Duration
The book was compiled in Xi'an starting in December 2020, printed in Beijing in October 2022, and finally launched in December 2022.
Operation Flow
This book preserves the memory of the city in the form of texts and images. It is a theoretical and retrospective look at this street for a thousand years. It records the stories of the people who lived, worked, studied, and grew up on this street. This set of books is a civic archive for the city, for the public and citizens to look through, query, and quote.
Research
Research Type: Local Culture and Urban Memory. Research Objective: To observe the historical changes in Xi'an, China's thousand-year-old capital, through an in-depth study of East Street, once the most prosperous main street in Xi'an, in order to show the people, events, and objects of the city over the past 100 years, and to reflect on the problems encountered in the development of the city and to explore the relationship between people and the city. Research methods: Interviews, research, literature search, open call and photo collection, photography, and documentation. Through the above methods, we have established extensive contacts with museums, archives, researchers, school scholars, and volunteers, forming a close network of information sharing and gaining support from various sources. This book has been published and has been well received by various fields of society. There are still very few books that study urban streets in a systematic way in China, perhaps even the only one. The publication of this book will provide an opportunity for urban policymakers and urban designers, as well as all those who have the potential to play a role in the future of cities, to look back and reflect on the past, but also to reconstruct the history of the city, the city that is everyone's city. At the same time, the book will provide a very indicative and reference model sample for the future study of Chinese cities.
Inspiration
Xi'an's East Street is located in the middle of the quadrangle. It has been the most important city street in Xi'an since the Ming Dynasty. The book "Memories of the East Street in Xi'an: Images, Words and Narratives" is a systematic record of the architectural form, street life, and cultural and commercial aspects of East Street. It attempts to create an archive of urban life in a folkloric and personal way, showing the daily life of Xi'an citizens and the city behind them.
Project Overview
Memories of the East Street in Xi'an Book has been a Silver winner in the Print and Published Media Design award category in the year 2023 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Image Credits
For design images and photos please credit Qun Song.
Silver Recognition
Qun Song was recognized with the coveted Silver A' Design Award in 2024, a testament to excellence of their work Memories of the East Street in Xi'an Book.
Qun Song Newsroom
Find inspiration and award-winning creativity within the Qun Song Newsroom.
