photography

A photo essay by Yang Zhazha

Ed: After his last series on the Anthill, Youth!, we're proud to publish another photo essay by Shandong-born, Beijing-based photographer Yang Zhazha, which we'll call "Funny Business". You can decide for yourself who the clown is ...

Photography from the Li river – by Daniel Rickleman

The famed stretch of the river Li in Guangxi, lined with jutting tooth-shaped limestone hills, is one of the most iconic landscapes in China. Millions visit each year; the 2o yuan note sports its image; and even President Clinton came for a look in 1998.

Every day, thousands of tourists cruise this river. They float as small groups on faux bamboo rafts, powered by what look like lawn-mower motors, or on long low ferries that carry over a hundred. The beehive hills cloaked in green crowd the banks of the river, forming not just a tourist site but a terrain, a landscape the edges of which a visitor cannot guess at.

A photo essay by Yang Zhazha

Ed: We're delighted to present a selection of photography by Yang Zhazha, from his series "Youth!". Zhazha is post 80s artistic youth sort himself (fond of tweed flat caps), a talented street photographer, and a personal friend. We'll follow up with another photo essay from him in the autumn, but for now we think these images from a Chinese childhood speak louder than words.

A photo essay by Joseph Johnson

English teachers have a certain reputation among China expats. Whether or not that is warranted is another question entirely. But I found that teaching in China gave me the opportunity to explore a new country, develop my photography skills, and interact with hundreds of local people in my students. I taught English and Art at a bilingual school in Shanghai from 2013 to 2014. During the academic year, I took a number of informal portraits of students in the classroom, at break time and on school trips. This are a selection of the photographs from that series, ”Students”.

Surprise attack – a photo essay by Joseph Johnson

When I arrived in China in late 2010, I was both overwhelmed and in awe. Like anyone experiencing an environment for the first time, I was fascinated by the new sights all around me – the landscapes, the architecture, the people.

He’s Behind You (身后) is a photography series that came about as a result of two things: the language barrier, and my general reluctance to point my camera in strangers’ faces (although locals on the Shanghai metro had no problem with it). Rather than not photographing people at all, I made the best of my self-imposed limits and started shooting subjects from behind.