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CHINA: Portrait of a People
by Tom Carter
TRAVEL / PHOTOGRAPHY
PRESS
RELEASE
China Photo Book Builds Bridge Of
Healing
 As
the Summer Olympics took place, the world’s eyes were fixed on China – but for
unexpected reasons. Far from being the celebration of Chinese culture envisaged
by the leaders in Beijing, the first six months of 2008 saw unrest in Tibet,
worldwide protests against the Olympic torch, calls for boycotts on both sides,
and finally the devastating earthquake in Sichuan.
This new attention raised new questions. Who are
the Chinese? How do they live and work? Do they all think alike? What do they
think about us? How much do we really know about the 1.3 billion people who
inhabit this vast country?
These questions are visually answered in
CHINA: Portrait of a People, a striking new
book of images which is the result of one photographer’s unprecedented journey
to every single province and region of the People’s Republic.
 Tom
Carter spent two years on the road and took over 10,000 portraits of the people
he met. Travelling by the cheapest modes of transport available and sleeping in
two-dollar guesthouses, the American photographer lived side by side with the
ordinary people of China and found to his surprise that they are incredibly
diverse. Besides the majority Han, China counts 55 official ethnic minorities
within its borders. The descendants of Manchu soldiers, Silk Road traders, Lao
hill tribes and Mongol nomads all have their own distinct heritage, cuisines,
languages, alphabets and customs.
CHINA: Portrait of a People includes an
epilogue by Shanghai wild child author Mian Mian, and novelist Anchee Min has
said: “Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures
the heart and soul of the Chinese people.”
Carter’s 640-page book features over 800 colour
photos of people from the 33 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of
China. These images break all stereotypes of the Chinese.
 “I
wanted to show the people, and dispel the stereotype of the Chinese as a
homogeneous single nationality,” said Carter, 35. “Most of my photos came about
as a natural result of my curiosity and interaction with people during my
travels. It takes a sincere interest in your subjects to get that close. I don't
believe in hiding behind a zoom lens. Candid life shots are a challenge – as a
foreigner walking down the street in China, all activity stops the moment you
are seen, so it’s tricky to photograph life before life stops to stare at you.”
Despite breakneck development and modernization,
China remains very foreign to Western eyes and may be the most challenging
country in the world for outsiders to navigate. “Aside from the obvious language
barriers, you have 5,000-year-old customs and extreme cultural differences that
can be quite vexing for the typical Westerner,” Carter explained. “But I delight
in the challenges that a country like China poses. And this book is a tribute to
all the people I met along the way.”
Genre: Travel/Photography
ISBN: 978-988-99799-4-2
Format: Softcover with jacket, 15cm x 15cm, 640 pages, full colour
Cover price: US$35.95
END
For more information, or for hi-res sample
images, see the book's press page or
contact:
Pete Spurrier, Blacksmith Books: (+852) 2877 7899
Dania Shawwa Abuali, Haven Books: (+852) 9830 1860
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