A photo exhibition coming to Shanghai Library July 13-16 documents a photo-grapher’s love affair with a city. Titled “romantic Quebec,” the exhibit features 120 pictures by Shanghai’s most nostalgic photo-grapher, Deke Erh.
　　Quebec is the capital of Quebec Province in Canada, near Montreal. Most of its inhabitants are French-speaking. The city has so much French influence that it’s been called “Un Petit Paris”- a small Paris—in the maple country.
　　“I went there twice for the preparation of this photo exhibition,” said the 40-year-old Erh, a freelance photographer who spends more than six months a year traveling to document different folk cultures.” The place is so tranquil and romantic that I nearly wanted to spend the rest of my life there.”
　　Erh is noted for his unique capture of old Shanghai buildings and his rendering of Quebec Will again impress visitors to the show.
The old castles stand in the sunset flanked by century-old cannons. The pictures evoke a feeling that no matter how the outside world has changed, Quebec sits there quietly watching, but is never part of the changes. Perhaps that’s the reason why the city has that romantic aura. “The (Canadian) government is helpful in conserving these old buildings,” Erh said. “Maybe we can learn something from them.”
　　The photo exhibition is one of the activities celebrating the sister-city relationship between Shanghai and Quebec. Mayor Pierre Bowque of Montreal will attend the opening ceremony.

Shanghai Daily 2000.7.7