The Great Wall climbs along a hillside outside Beijing, 2006
Heidi and I had the opportunity to live in China at three different moments over the course of 30 years:
first in 1988-1989,
then in 2005-2006, and
finally in 2018-2020.
Each of these times reflected important phases in China’s recent history, and are represented in my photographs below.
Foreigners were rare in 1988 in China’s interior. We were likely the first these boys had encountered in the flesh. Sichuan Province, 1988.China was still emerging from the decade of chaos and violence known as the Cultural Revolution, which ran from the mid-1960’s to the mid-1970’s, and the vast majority of citizens were poor. Sichuan Province, 1988.Virtually all work was accomplished without equipment, as China possessed abundant labor and very little capital to purchase hardware. Chengdu, 1988.In 2005 labor was still primary, partly because China’s vast population needed to be put to work, as with these people expanding the shoreline of Erhai Lake in Yunnan Province.Equipment was used more often in 2005, generally accompanied by clusters of laborers who would pick through the debris for anything that could be recycled. These people would eke out a subsistence selling what they could glean. Chengdu, 2005.In both 1988 and 2005, people waited near neighborhood garbage cans to glean from the trash whatever might be sold for reuse or recycling. Chengdu, 2005.By the early 2000’s, many young adults left the countryside for work in the cities, at times leaving their children behind with relatives (often grandparents), and at other times bringing their children to live with them at worksites. Chengdu, 2006.In 2018, children gathered nightly for roller blading lessons on the sidewalk outside a mall. Most children no longer faced poverty, but pressure to excel in China’s hyper-competitive education system meant children did not roller blade; they took roller blading lessons. They didn’t swim; they took swimming lessons. Children applying to the best kindergartens presented multi-page resumes of their diverse activities and multiple languages spoken, to garner a coveted slot. Nansha, 2018.In 2006 the economy was producing rapidly improving living standards for many Chinese, but others were still struggling. During this time – not before (in 1988-89), nor after (in 2018-20) – we often saw strangers helping those with difficult jobs, like this man who hopped off his bicycle to help push this other man’s load. Chengdu, 2006.By 2018 China had made impressive gains improving the living standards of its citizens, eliminating the most serious poverty for virtually all, though its income inequality became one of the highest in the world. It still faced a huge population whose labor needed to be deployed in an increasingly industrialized and automated economy. Many worked as delivery people, strapping boxes to the backs of their scooters. Guangzhou, 2018.Goods were scarce in China in 1988. At shops, you didn’t cruise the aisles; you stood outside and tried to get a staffer to acknowledge you. Hunger was a problem in China. Rice and cooking oil were rationed. The primary source of calories in the Chinese diet at the time was cooking oil. Chengdu, 1988.Sichuan had more ample food resources than other parts of China in 1988. Sometimes, itinerant specialty cooks would set up shop along sidewalks, and people would bring the raw materials, creating little community events. In this case, the vendor had a small coal stove and cookie irons. People brought the batter, and pressing it between the two hinged irons, the cook would make waffle cone-like treats for them. Chengdu, 1988.By 2005, China was providing abundant food for its population, and meat (like these spicy skewers) had become the largest source of calories. Chengdu, 2005.By 2018 luxury brands were a regular fixture, and shopping as entertainment was a cultural activity. Foshan, 2018.Taking a bus in 1988 during rush hour was a crowded affair. Most of the people trying to board this bus made it. Chengdu, 1988.By 2005, people had more choices for transportation and the government had resources to provide better equipment. Chengdu, 2005Talking on a cellular phone on the bus was not uncommon in 2006. In 1988 it was difficult to make a call across town; the Chinese phone infrastructure was rudimentary and limited. Much of the country simply jumped past land line phones to mobile. In 2006 and in 2018, we found the availability and strength of mobile signal throughout China far better than in the U.S. Chengdu, 2006.Other than your own feet, bicycles were the kings and queens of transportation in 1988. Chengdu.Bikes were still common in 2005, but scooters were popular among the growing middle class, and private cars were becoming more common. Chengdu, 2005.The 2005 Chinese version of a minivan, Chengdu.Cars, owned or privately hired, dominated on-street activity by 2018, though China’s massive investments in public infrastructure included subways and busses, as well as huge, modern airports throughout the country. Electric and self-driving cars were under development as intentional parts of China’s technological development. Nansha, 2018.in 1988 urban China, work units – almost all government-controlled – provided your housing, which tended to be universally drab and damp. Chengdu, 1988.Old-style homes along the river in Chengdu, built before the communist concrete era, with government-provided concrete apartment blocks behind, 1988.Housing had improved markedly for the burgeoning middle class by 2005. Chengdu.For newly wealthy Chinese, individual homes were becoming a reality. Chengdu, 2005.Over the past decade tall apartment blocks have sprouted like weeds in Chinese cities, with space and amenities that couldn’t have been imagined by people 30 years earlier. Many Chinese turned to housing as an investment, buying new units and leaving them empty, hoping to sell for a profit in a few years. This investment activity has led to construction of massive and mostly-empty condo blocks and a resulting housing bubble, causing economic tremors in China. Nansha, 2018.Of course, in 2018 not all urban Chinese lived in modern apartment blocks. Nansha, 2018.China has pointed large parts of its impressive technical resources toward controlling information and discourse, online and in person, lending its massive security state huge reach. Increasingly confident, China sought to expand its control of Hong Kong in 2019. People turned out in huge numbers to protest. Hong Kong, 2019.The 2019 protests in Hong Kong were reminiscent of the protests within mainland China 30 years earlier; both were asking for a greater say in political life. The spring of 1989 contained many protests around the country, with the most famous in Tiananmen Square. In Chengdu the protests were massive as well. Chengdu, 1989.Kashgar, XinjiangLhasa, TibetHong KongAs China increases its power internally and externally, people within its control are required to comply. This is a central and tragic feature of modern China.Chengdu, 2006Nansha, 2018Chengdu, 1988One of the things that hasn’t changed in 30 years: grandparents and grandchildren love each other. It was the people who first endeared China to us, and who remain its best feature.
You can find more photos from China (and elsewhere) in the gallery Work, Rest, and Play.
