Rust and rot
(Caged birds on canal side: Nanxun)
At the time I took this photo, in the first week or so of being in China, it was also the first time I had seen birds caged like this. It is a common sight outside houses, shops and in public parks. Often cages are shuffled together outside like this so the captives can chitter to each other through the bars. In the right hand cage there are no birds, but some little rodent, possibly caught munching on something spilt in the house. I’m not sure if these captured miniatures are kept for luck or as little jolly companions, but they are widespread and always housed in tiny ornate barrel or bell shaped enclosures.
This photograph was taken during a day trip to Nanxun; is veined with canals through the centre; people live, work and relax right on the banks. Some waterways of the ancient town were immensely beautiful and picturesque and others displayed the neglect of many years of hard use and no restoration. In one spot, a truck had been left to rust and rot, parked against the canal bank; and behind it the fabric canopies of shop fronts, wasting in the sunlight – all slowly dissolving with the passing seasons.
