For several years, I have been taking pictures of manhole covers because they suggest how decentralized Shenzhen planning and development were back in the day. One of the “five connections and one leveling” or “seven connections and one leveling” was setting up a sewage system and so many early sewage connections were made by developers, rather than the city. Below, a sampling of manhole covers, ranging from village level through enterprise and district areas to the city itself.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.