A Scene of Past and Present in Qingdao, China

I've seen some foreigners who are knowledgable about China express their aversion to photos that explicitly capture the country's past and present together. One reason they may feel this way is that the photos can at least be reminiscent of those sometimes used to express something to the effect of "Look, China has both old and new!"--not an original point requiring much experience or knowledge to make. But I think you're missing out on something if you automatically dismiss such photos. Even after years of living in China and appreciating many of its nuances, some scenes of "old and new" still captivate me and stimulate a variety of thoughts.

So without any shame, I'll share a scene I recently saw in Qingdao: