Transcript · Chinese (China) → English
Exploring the Duality of Guangzhou
You are now in Guangzhou.
This is Guangzhou's most bustling downtown area.
But today, I want to show you something different.
The other side of Guangzhou.
To me, Guangzhou...
...is not just one city.
It is more like two cities stacked together.
One side is the gold-paved...
...CBD, the financial heart.
Here, housing prices exceed 100,000 yuan per square meter.
A single studio apartment costs 5,000 yuan a month to rent.
While on the other side, in an urban village just five kilometers away...
...the monthly rent is only 1,000 yuan.
You can even find a place to stay for just 500 yuan.
The population density here...
...is about 200,000 people per square kilometer.
That is 15 times that of the city center.
With so many people in such a small space...
...it has given rise to a classic feature of urban villages:
"Handshake buildings."
The distance between two buildings is less than a meter.
If you open your window...
...you can literally shake hands with the person in the opposite building.
That is how "handshake buildings" got their name.
This is Guangzhou's largest urban village:
Shipai Village.
The first feeling you get when walking in here is...
...darkness.
It is pitch black inside.
Because the sunlight is swallowed up by the buildings.
The sky is cut into a single line.
People here call it "a sliver of sky."
It sounds romantic...
...but it is actually just because the buildings are too close together.
Yes, here...
...you literally have to pay for sunlight.
If you rent a room with no light...
...it might only cost 800 yuan.
But if you want a room with plenty of sunlight...
...it might cost 1,000 yuan more.
Many residents' rooms do not have balconies...
...so clothes are usually hung on rods outside the windows.
The ground is often wet.
Water dripping from air conditioners...
...water from washing clothes...
...and accumulated rainwater.
It is a beautiful sunny day outside right now...
...but nobody knows where this water is coming from.
People who don't know would think it's raining.
Some people complain it is dirty.
Some say it is chaotic.
Yes, it is indeed far from perfect.
But it is right here...
...with its low rent and proximity to downtown...
...that accommodates countless people who have left their hometowns.
It is not heaven...
...nor is it hell.
It is simply the current state of life for many ordinary people.
And I say "current"...
...because in the future...
...I believe everyone who uses this place as a stepping stone...
...every outsider surviving here...
...will be able to walk out of here...
...and go where they want to go.
Don't look down on it just because it's a village.
It has Cainiao post stations...
...phone shops...
...kindergartens...
...vegetables, fruits, appliance repairs...
...cupping therapy, and massages.
As long as it is a daily necessity...
...you can find it all here.
If you go to a convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes...
...the owner might recognize you...
...and throw in a free lighter.
Getting a haircut from a barber...
...costs only 20 yuan.
And they will even chat with you about life.
The elderly lady at the tailor shop...
...can hem your pants for you.
Living here...
...you must learn...
...to watch out for two more things:
...dripping water from air conditioners...
...and delivery scooters.
Because the roads in the village...
...are indeed very narrow.
Many alleys...
...are only one meter wide...
...and incredibly labyrinthine.
It's like a giant maze.
Many delivery riders,
to save time,
through these narrow alleys,
ride incredibly fast.
Of course, these are the veterans.
Because novices
wouldn't dare come here at all.
You can really get lost here.
That's why Shipai Village
is known as a rider's nightmare.
At night,
it's a completely different scene.
Food stalls everywhere
gather delicacies from all over the country.
A plate of fried rice noodles for 10 yuan,
under the office buildings just a few hundred meters away,
might cost 30 or 40.
I have to say,
the prices in the village
indeed give many people the confidence to survive.
From 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
is the peak time to leave the village.
Delivery riders,
couriers,
construction workers,
office workers,
everyone squeezes into the alleys,
heading to their respective jobs.
They are all heading in the same direction,
which is the subway station.
As the subway moves forward,
the urban village is no longer visible.
Replaced by towering buildings,
expensive glass curtain walls,
and the grandeur of this city.
The people getting off here,
at this moment,
are no longer residents of the urban village,
but white-collar workers of this city,
the beating heart
of this city.
Coffee is the blood here,
with everyone holding a cup in hand.
At lunchtime, the underground food court here is just like the fast-food stalls in the urban village.
A bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles that costs eight yuan there sells for over 30 here.
Zhujiang New Town is beautiful at night,
but its beauty is distant.
As the night mist falls,
the subway welcomes another peak rush.
This time, in the opposite direction,
returning from Zhujiang New Town to the urban village.
Boarding at the same platform,
alighting at the same platform,
a 10-hour cycle.
Every day, over 1.5 million people travel on Line 3.
After exiting, some buy a plate of fried noodles at a stall,
some go to a convenience store for a bottle of beer,
and some go straight upstairs.
The lights turn on.
Which side is the real Guangzhou?
I think both are.
They support each other,
and neither can do without the other.
Sunlight is fair,
it's just that it arrives at different times.
The buildings in the CBD are taller
and might look brighter,
while the urban village is lower
but warmer and more grounded.
This is not the upper half of the city,
it is the foundation of the city,
the very baseline of Guangzhou.
End of transcript · 1,000 words · machine translated
Original transcript (Chinese (China))
你现在是在广州 这里是广州最繁华的市中心 但是我今天想带你去看点不一样的 广州的另一边 广州在我看来
不是一座城市 更像是两座城市叠在一起 一面是金银遍地的 CBD金融心脏 这里每平方房价超过10万
一个单间月租就得有5000块 而另一面相距5公里的城中村 月租只要1000 甚至500也能租到一个落脚的地方 这里的人口密度
约为每平方公里20万人 是市中心的15倍 人口多地方小 因此催生出了城中村的典型代表 握手楼
两栋楼的间距不到一米 打开窗户 真的能和对面楼上的人握手 这就是握手楼名字的由来 这里是广州最大的城中村
石牌村 走进这里的第一感觉就是 黑 这里边一片漆黑 因为阳光被楼吞掉了
天空被切成一条线 这里的人管这叫一线天 听起来很浪漫 其实就是楼间距太小 没错 在这里
阳光确实需要付费 如果你租一个没有光的房子 可能只要800 但你想租一个阳光充足的房间 可能得贵上1000块
很多住户的房间没有阳台 所以衣服通常会挂在窗户外面的杆子上 地面经常是湿的 空调低的水 洗衣服的水
下雨机的水 现在外面是大晴天 但是这个水不知道是从哪来的 不知道的人以为下雨呢 有人嫌它脏
有人说它乱 是 这里确实不尽致 但就是这里 低租金加近市区的特点 容纳了无数背井离乡的人
它不是天堂 也不是地狱 它就是很多普通人当下的生活状态 我说的是当下 因为以后
我相信每一个把这里当做跳坡的人 在这里生存的异乡人 都能走出这里 去到他想去的地方 别看这里只是个村
但菜鸟驿站 手机店 幼儿园 蔬菜水果家电维修 拔罐按摩
只要是生活需要的 这里全都有 去便利店买包烟 老板可能还认识你 会多送一个打火机
理发师剪个头 只要20块 再跟你唠唠家常 裁缝铺的阿婆 能帮你改裤角
在这里生活 你必须学会 多两样东西 空调滴水 和送外卖的电瓶车
因为村子里的路 确实很窄 很多巷子 只有一米宽 而且错综复杂
就像一个巨型迷宫 很多外卖小哥 为了赶时间 在这个狭小的巷子 骑得飞快
当然这些都是老手 因为新手 他根本不敢来这里 在这儿真的会迷路 所以石牌村
被称为骑手的噩梦 晚上这里 又是另外一番景象 随处可见的小池滩 汇集了全国各地的美食
一份十块钱的炒米粉 在几百米外的写字楼下 可能得花三四十 不得不说 村子里的物价
确实给了很多人生存的底气 早上六点到九点 是出村的高峰期 送外卖的 跑拍地的
去工地干活的 在写字楼上班的 所有人都挤在巷子里 走向各自的工作 他们的方向一致
那就是地铁站 随着地铁的前行 城中村已经看不到了 取而代之的是高速建筑 是昂贵的玻璃幕墙
是这座城市的磅礴大气 在这里下车的人 这一刻 他们不再是城中村的居民 而是这座城市的百里职员
是这个城市 开始跳动的心脏 咖啡是这里的血液 每个人手里都有一杯 午餐时间这里的地下美食广场和城中村的快餐店舞台一样
一碗八块钱的兰州拉面在这里得买三十多个 夜晚的珠江新城很美 但它的美是疏离了 随着夜雾降临 地铁又迎来一波高峰
这次的方向相反 从珠江新城返回城中村 同一站台上车 同一站台下车 十个小时一个循环
每天有超过一百五十万人在三号线流动 出站后有人在小摊上买一份炒粉 有人去便利店买一瓶啤酒 有人直接上楼 灯亮了
哪一面才是真正的广州 我觉得都是 他们互相支撑 谁也离不开谁 阳光是公平的
只是它到达的时间不一样 CBD的楼高一些 可能会鲜亮 城中村矮一点 但是厚亮
这里不是城市的上半部 它是城市的底座 是广州最城市的底线
