Changlefang Residential District

The gray concrete slabs of Changlefang Residential District rise in sharp, repetitive blocks above the street level. These structures emerged in the nineteen eighties as the city of Xian expanded its industrial footprint. Thousands of workers arrived to fill the new manufacturing jobs, and the government built these rows of apartments to house them quickly. Today, the paint peels from the walls and old laundry lines crisscross between the buildings, holding onto a design intended for a workforce that has largely moved on.