Creating blue skies

In recent years, Beijing's air pollutants has dropped precipitously, at a rate far exceeding natural repair. The blue sky above us is not so much "repaired" as it is precisely "manufactured". Then, looking up at this unnatural clear sky, what is the feeling of the people living in this land? Going to the Shougang ruins on a cloudy day, I walked among the cooled boilers and chimneys. The huge cooling towers and towering chimneys silently stand there, reminding us that Beijing's stifling smog in the past was largely created by such grand, rough industrial landscapes. Then I went to the world's loneliest high-speed railway station—Tianjin Binhai Station. Walking on the streets, there's a dull and strange atmosphere in the air. Through the glass curtain wall of the 31-story hotel room, all I saw was a misty gray. To "manufacture blue skies" in this grayness, I subscribed to Capture One, and for the first time, earnestly adjusted the tones of photos in RAW format...

2010年代以来，北京的空气污染物呈断崖式下降，其速度远超自然规律所能及。我们头顶的蓝天，与其说是被“修复”，不如说是被精密地“制造”。那么，生活在“京津冀”这片土地上的人们，望着这制造出的澄澈苍穹，览物之情，得无异乎？ 3月15日前往首钢园时，正逢一个灰蒙的阴天。冷静的光影下，我穿行于早已冷却的锅炉与烟囱之间。原先输送滚烫工业原料的粗大管道，如今铺上了木栈道，成了供人观赏的步道。巨大的冷却塔和高耸入云的烟囱，沉默地肃立着，向我们诉说一个事实：北京曾经令人窒息的雾霾，很大部分便是由这般宏大、粗犷的工业景观造就的。 3月21日与22日，我又前往了世界上最孤独的高铁站——天津滨海站。它是世界上最大的下沉式车站，却只与北京南相连。走在街头，你能感到四周的空气笼罩着一种沉闷而奇异的氛围。等我抵达31层酒店的房间，满怀期待地拉开窗帘，透过巨大的玻璃幕墙，看到的只有一片迷蒙的灰。为了在这片灰色中“制造蓝天”，我订阅了 Capture One，平生第一次，认认真真地用 RAW 格式去修理照片的影调……