22/09 London

Venue: The Gopher Hole

Address: 350-354 Old Street, London EC1V 9NQ

Time: September 22, starting at 7pm

Reserve your free tickets: rsvp@holygopher.com

After a successful launch in a sold out City Theatre in Amsterdam, architect Daan Roggeveen and China correspondent Michiel Hulshof will present their new book How the City Moved to Mr. Sun – China’s New Megacities in the Gopher Hole Gallery in London.

On September 22, they will share their stories and pictures from unknown Chinese megacities like Wuhan (10 million inhabitants), Shijiazhuang (9 million) and Chongqing (33 million), that are transforming at breakneck pace into the big brothers and sisters of global cities like Rio de Janeiro, London and Moscow. Here, China is constructing the biggest urban society the world has ever seen.

The transformation of these cities follows a ruthless logic: farmers demolish their homes and build their own high-rise apartment blocks, torn down again by city authorities in the name of progress. Everywhere in the country, new business districts, skylines and complete ghost cities come into being.

The effects are felt far outside China. The growing urban middle class has ever more money to spend, driving up demand for luxuries worldwide. Chinese students are conquering the lecture halls of Harvard and Yale. On the other hand, urbanisation has severe implications in terms of sustainability: it causes higher emissions of greenhouse gasses and puts further pressure on dwindling oil and gas reserves.

Venue: The Gopher Hole

Address: 350-354 Old Street, London EC1V 9NQ

Time : September 22, starting at 7pm

Reserve your free tickets: rsvp@holygopher.com

Web: gowestproject.com / holygopher.com