The people, the atmosphere, and the buildings portrayed are now long gone, replaced by a hectic and disordered metropolis, and the contrast often puts the viewer in a melancholy mood. After being discharged from the military and working in the magazine field, Cheng in 1964 went to the photography division of the Government Information Office.
當然，鄭桑溪並沒有像今天的報導攝影家那般，做更深入而人間性的探討，他只是「業餘」地去做「記實」的工作，看到什麼拍什麼，沒有主觀的意識或想法，也時常無法兼顧到「人」與大「景觀」間更好的關係位置。