No. 126

Picturing China, Part 1: As we’ve made our way through China’s East, from Hong Kong towards Beijing, it’s become apparent that this country is a photographer’s dream. A feast of color, action and fantastic landscapes at every turn, it’s nearly true that all you need to do is point your camera in any direction at any time and you’ll document some remarkable detail of Chinese life. I’ve enjoyed taking pictures here almost as much as I enjoyed it in India, the primary difference being that the Indian people are much less wary of being photographed than the Chinese. When you point your camera at anything in India, five guys jump in front of it. When you do the same in China, everyone scatters or, in some heavily touristed rural areas, asks for money. I actually had one kid snatch a map out of my bag and hold it for ransom when I took a street picture that included him in it (he gave it back after I mimed crying and then taught him how to make fart noises with his hands). That kind of thing doesn't happen unless a community is feeling exploited, so it's impossible to fault anyone but myself. It just means exercising more discretion, receiving more rejections and getting a hell of a lot better at taking sneaky pictures.

Above are some scenes from some of our stops along the way to Beijing. Left to right, from the top: Tourist night market in Tunxi; Rooftop in Ping’an, at the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces; Women in traditional tribal dress, near Longshen; Man reading board in a community hall, Xidi historic village; Lovers’ locks chained at the top of Mt. Huang Shan, Anhui province; Residential doorway, Hongcun historic village; Stairs in Shanghai; Buddhist monk at Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai; Train station vendor, Nanjing; Man selling turtles, Nanjing; Entrance to Linggu Temple, Nanjing and; Nanjing skyline, from nearby Zijin Mountain.