Discover Philly’s ‘Chinese Wall’ with this tech-enabled walking tour

They walked around Center City with their phones held high.

Instead of ignoring their surroundings, though, they were watching a video about what used to be there: Philadelphia’s “Chinese Wall,” a 10-block stone viaduct that split Center City in half for much of the 20th century.

The “Chinese Wall” on Market Street, circa 1941. (Photo via PhillyHistory.org)

The tech-infused walking tour was part of State & Main, an indie media conference organized by the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture and All Community Media held in early August.

Video collective Termite TV organized the walking tour, which sought to “track the ghost of Philly’s ‘Chinese Wall.'” You can even download the video and go on the tour yourself.

(Photo courtesy of Termite TV)

The Chinese Wall walking tour is just one from the Walk Philly series, which offers videos about Philadelphia history that you can pair with a walk around the city.

It’s a project similar to that of Termite TV artists Anula Shetty and Mike Kuetemeyer, who built a mobile app that shows how a Chinatown street has changed over time.