Faces of China

Guilin Fisherman

Let me start with the definition of street photography on wikipedia:

Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is
photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated
chance encounters and random incidents[1] within public places. WIKIPEDIA

Okay I admit it's kind of freaky walking around with a camera and try to captures human beings in their natural habitat without permisson and maybe not even seen. Facinating about this "art form" is that most people act way different when they don't realize and know that they are in focus. Every human is different, never identical. Different skin and hair color, style of clothes, expression, behaviour. Sometimes you capture the people on the street while walking, sitting in a cafe or bar, waiting in line or starring out of the window. Young and old, happy or grumpy, it doesn't matter.
All that paired with different surroundings make street photography really special.

Enjoy my "Faces of China" series and let me know what you think about the photos. Actually two images are out of line. I bet you notice it right away.

Beijing

Capital of China, population of 21,7 million, hundreds of ancient buildings and a great history. It was our first visit to China, if you don't count Hongkong to Mainland China, and the first to Beijing. We are lucky that friends of ours work in Beijing and invited us to spend some time with them in this amazing city. I can promise you that 4 days are definitely not enough time for this huge city.

The next 10 photos were all shot in Beijing. You hear the several different sounds in metropolises like Beijing - honking cars, yelling people, music, brakes and the sound of someone hitting metal with a hammer. Several craftsmen along the crowded streets produce handmade silver wear like bracelets, rings and earrings. Sitting in the sun for hours is exhausting but most of the craftsmen don't seem to care. Tourist stop by, take pictures and keep going.

Silver wear craftsman

Bell and Drum Tower

The original purpose of those two buildings, which are in the middle of the Inner City, was a musical purpose. Bells and drums were used in ancient China as well as today as musical instruments. Later on the towers were used for time keeping up to the year 1924. Today they are one of the main tourist attractions in the city of Beijing and you have a fantastic view over the city.

Mother and daughter on the place between Drum and Bell Tower

Fashion in China is way different then in Europe. Families of four in exactly the same sports outfits of Adidas - hats, shirts, trousers, socks and shoes. Funny looking Manga shirts, bunny ears, umbrellas, rain jackets, selfie sticks and on and on and on. You have to get used to the looks and have to remind yourself to stop staring at all the "funny" looking people.

Group of boys on the rental bikes in Beijing

What's also great about big Chinese cites is that they have rental bikes all over the place. Scan the QR code on the bike, pay with your phone and off you go. One huge problem: Most people use the bikes to get from one attraction to the next. So the bikes pile up near the Forbidden City for example. The companies have to collect the bikes and have to distribute them over the city again. Every single day!

Old man right resting in the shade

It's sad but China is a great example of the huge gap between rich and poor. Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes Benz: Premium cars on the streets. Skyscrapers and designer stores on the one hand, people from rural areas cleaning the streets with wooden brooms in dirty clothes in the midday sun.

Live music near Houhai Lake

Close by the Drum and Bell Tower is the Houhai Lake. People rowing in Dragon boats over the lake, tourists in motorized boats and even some fishermen on the shore of the lake trying to catch some fish. The small and crowded streets around this area are famous for it's souvenirs and small bars. Live music is played in many of the bars and restaurants. We enjoyed a cold Coca Cola, rested our tired feet and listened to great Chinese pop songs.

Children

No future without children! They are often free of worries, eager to learn and open to strangers. We took up to ten photos a day with cute Chinese children almost every single day because their parents asked us "white strangers" for a photo. Don't forget to show the victory sign and smile:) As mentioned in several other posts, Chinese children and people in general are selfie and posing world champions! Just see for yourself. Especially the young girls and boys know what to do when in front of a camera. And let me tell you: Smartphones are all over the place!

Girl at the Summer Palace, Beijing

Can you sit like that on a stone pole? I can't!

Pink - the global girls color? I guess that's right

Typical pose

Smile

Cute little girl during a field trip during our Yangtze Cruise to the "Lesser three gorges"

No smile

The big sister is playing with her little brother during a flight

Action pose in front of the 999 steps to the Heavenly Gate in the Zhangjiajie National Park

MILK - Those two girls let their grandmas have a lot of fun at the airport terminal

At work

Let's get back to the older humans. I captured people in all kind of different situations. During work, while relaxing, during their well deserved dinner or while waiting in line. It's funny how their faces look during different activities. Actually I would love to see my own expressions while treating patients, doing sports or watching a horror movie.
What I noticed is that a lot of elderly people still worked on the fields and so on in China. I guess they need the money or they enjoy their work so much. The oldest woman, I guess she was +90 years old, was passing us at the Longji Rice Terraces with a wooden basket on here back and carrying things around on the steep path. There are many scientific papers which prove that people who stay active have a higher chance to not suffer from dementia. Working out which also includes walking and getting up stairs, is perfect training for the brain!

Lady preparing sweets on the famous Hui Street in Xi'an

Local guide on our "Lesser three gorges" field trip

He was telling us about the "Lesser three gorges before the huge "Three gorges dam" was build and the Yangtze river was dammed up

Oh that's me on the cruise ship

Traditional Chinese folkloric show on the cruise ship

Hard work in the rice fields

The old lady lives with her granddaughter in a small village between the beautiful rice terraces

Guilin & Yangshuo - Highlight of our travel?

We started in Beijing, took the train to Xi'an, back on the plane to Zhangjiajie, train to Yichang, jumped on the cruise ship upstream towards Chongqing, again another flight to Guilin and then the last flight to Shanghai before going home. What a trip. What was the best location? Actually I can't tell you what I enjoyed the most but the Guilin area was fascinating in many ways. Guilin itself in the middle of the Karst landscape with the funny looking hills is worth a visit. The two pagodas which stand right next to a beautiful lake and shine in red and white during night time. The rice terraces in the north and Yangshuo in the south. I bet you can travel this areas for weeks and would not be able to see all exciting spots.

The Guilin Photography tour, which we booked in advance, is a great way to explore the area with a professional guide, who knows where to be at the right time to take the perfect shot. Just check out their website and reviews on Tripadvisor and you know what I'm talking about. They offer a variety of different tours depend on your taste and time you spend in the area.

Yangshuo is a smaller town in the south of Guilin with can be reached by car, bus or boat from Guilin. It's touristy but not as crowded as other places in China. On the first day we did the typical rafting trip on the Yulong river. Don't miss out on this one! The landscape looks way different when you float on the water and it's quite a relaxing trip. If water is not for you, you can ride a bike along the rivers through the rice fields. At first I was like: Puh so hot, more rice fields, why should we do that if we did the boat tour before? But it turned out to be a cool and different experience because you ride through all the rice fields, see all kind of different animals and you meet many friendly people who greet you on your way. The days in the Yangshuo area showed as another more rural area of China and we enjoyed the more relaxed days before our final destination Shanghai.

Guilin Fisherman resting on his boat

George, our guide in Guilin, the Fisherman and I

Flying the drone over the Lijiang River viewed by curious children

I hope you enjoyed this pretty long post and made it to the end. If you have any questions regarding a a trip to China, don't be afraid to asked. I give my best to answer your questions.

Have a great evening everybody and I can highly recommend a trip to China.

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Enjoy life, have fun and take more beautiful photos!
Sebastian

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