1009 or 2009? Villages and Cities of Today's CHINA
By Tom Carter
7 Dec 2008
China, the mystery of the Orient, and also its greatest paradox. The fastest growing economy in the world from history's oldest civilization, whence steel and glass skylines are haloed by crumbling walls and well-heeled bankers rub shoulders with barefooted ethnic minorities.
The country is amidst one of the most rapid transformations in its vast history, what this author calls the Dynasty of Change, yet also remains a veritable kingdom of the ancients.
During my two-year journey to every province and autonomous region in the People's Republic, I have been blessed to visit both the gleaming metropolises of China's future and the sepia toned remnants of its past.
The following series of photos, taken from my new book of photography 'CHINA: Portrait of a People,' are what I personally consider the most beautiful sites of Old China; those remote villages that have yet to meet China's wrecking ball, and a proud people contented to proceed with their antediluvian customs as they have for five thousand years.
The most comprehensive book of photography on modern China ever published by a single author? Decidedly so. But what the title of my book doesn't suggest is that Chinese architecture also plays a role throughout CHINA: Portrait of a People's 640 pages - those ancient villages and modern cities where the people of his eponymous book dwell.
I was truly surprised to find that every Chinese province has distinct terrain and architecture as well as unique culture. China is like 33 siblings, sharing the same blood yet each with their own personalities and appearance.
For a glimpse into ancient China minus the souvenir stands, go backpacking around the Miao-Dong Autonomous Region in East Guizhou, the tulou Hakka earth buildings in southern Fujian, the Tibetan shanties of Langmusi in South Gansu, or the stunning Qing dynasty villages that dot southern Anhui/northern Jiangxi provinces. It's like a living, breathing scroll painting.
You need to move fast, though; there's an old Chinese saying I made up that goes 'village China does not commercialize is village China will bulldoze.
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CHINA: Portrait of a People, by Tom Carter
Genre: Travel / Photography / Art / China
ISBN: 9-789889-979942
Size: 15cm x 15cm, soft cover, 640 pages, 800 full color images, with maps of each province
Published: Summer 2008 by Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong, in association with Haven Books
