China –
In China, every year hundreds of millions of people find work in other places. Like them I am also a drifter in a land not my own. They come from everywhere, North to South, East to West. People often lose their way during this process, losing the feeling of a real home. Lacking a sense of belonging, perhaps this is a symptom of being Chinese during this time.
However the greatness of mankind derives from thought.
Them, the citizens, the worker… Each one of them has their own ordinary life, working 9 to 5, taking vacations, feeding their kids… They’ve been watching their homeland undergo a great change in the last 30 years. Now they have to face the old traditions and customs and the effects on their lifestyles’ of the rapid development of the economy. No matter good or not there’s a struggle in their hearts between the old traditions and culture, and their life will not like before any more.
Life is tough. As Chinese economy is rocking through the roof, people start suffering from high level of stress and anxiety about possible job losses. In the never land, people would not be suffering until they got brought back to the reality. I would be happy to live with them in the never land, but not every story has a happy ending. People in the photos illustrate the breaking up of the modern Chinese social development and picture our reflection.
Written and photography by Zhang Xiao
