Ghosts, memory and the City by SWANTON Dan

Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre

shizezhang98 — 2020-11-17 12:20:59 UTC

During World War II, Japan invaded China and massacred 300, 000 Chinese in nanjing, a major Chinese city at the time. So now there is such a building in Nanjing. I think its main significance is threefold: 1. Call on all people, Whether Chinese or otherwise, not to forget the pain of the war. 2. Patriotism education. 3. Face history squarely.

Singapore's Botanic Gardens

mretout — 2023-11-20 11:47:25 UTC

The botanics in Singapore are one of only two botanical gardens in the world designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

It's a space that was made in colonial times and represents Singapore's interesting relationship with this era. There is almost a romantic quality to this relationship, with many Singaporeans believing this legacy was instrumental in establishing Singapore as a modern global hub.

Singapore nominated the gardens for UNESCO status - deliberately overlooking other indigenous sites. Walking around the gardens, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the grounds of an English stately home (except for some of the plant species and the fact it's 34 degrees) with its undulating landscaped lawns.

Walk around the gardens and you are walking amongst the ghosts of colonial era Singapore, in a space virtually unchanged since the 1850s - even the Japanese occupation during WW2 did not interrupt the maintenance of this historic site.

The gardens encapsulate an idealised imagination of a by-gone era, but of course they mask and ignore the corrupt and exploitative nature of colonialism at the same time.

Mayor temple

mercedesbernalaguilar — 2023-11-20 14:42:27 UTC

Many cities in Mexico were built over other civilization's cities. This is an example of the ruins of the Mayor Temple once belonged to Mexicas (Aztecs).