In the last post (a long time ago) I made a statement to the effect that things were kind of returning to normal in western China. Since making that statement we’ve seen almost five violent protests in the region – mostly involving flaming bodies, sadly. If you read the news, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, the phrase ‘flaming bodies’ should be enough to make you do some research.
Alas, another month where the local foreign photographer isn’t allowed to leave the city for political reasons. Nonetheless, I’ve kept busy in the city that I live trying to work on capturing the working class culture of this city. The thing I love about living in a city that has one foot in the modern world and one foot strongly in the traditional world is that all sorts of strange jobs start to pop up. Visual contradictions, if you will. Blind massage parlors with people that aren’t blind. A Sichuan cook from Gansu who isn’t old enough to legally work in America. Muslim women wearing full on hijabs and bucket hats that will wash your car (or rug) for a few RMB. A woman selling mountain bikes that knows way more about making traditional noodles that bikes… and is willing to tell you about about it. How’s that for a selling point – buy a bike, get some noodles.
These are the kind of jobs you see popping up in these minority border areas of China, and I think it’s fantastic. I wanted to share just a few of this series with you as I work on it.
Hope you enjoy!
