After being in China for three weeks, in 2006, Maureen and I were feeling quite comfortable with wandering down streets we had not yet seen. Rather than on focusing so much on the things we saw on our walks, we turned our focus to people, ordinary people. We wandered down a street heading south of the main campus with a fellow FT carrying our cameras and taking photos of both people and places, but at the same time, making sure that we also made eye contact with the people we met along the way. I will let the photos tell the rest of this story.
These are just some of the scenes we saw along the way. A full copy of the married couple photo was printed out and given to them as were a few other photos I took during our walk.
In a recent e-mail I received from a colleague and friend who is a Chinese National, our friend comments:
“Your impression of China, in some way, is very close to Chinese reality. Every photo you put up shows the normal life of Chinese people, not like some other foreigners who just take pictures of the beautiful and good side of China.”
This is high praise indeed coming from a well-educated university professor who has spent his whole life in China. These comments allow us to think that what we are sharing here in both photos and commentary, become more valuable to others who are considering taking a similar journey.