China boasts 56 different ethnic groups. The photographer Chen Haiwen, born in Shanghai, found the necessary budget to go out and meet them all. It was a childhood dream of his to get to know his country’s different customs, dances and cultures.
After two years spent driving, flying, biking and walking 95,000 kilometers with a team of 14 photographers, Haiwen put together a book of 570,000 photographs. His team visited 554 cities and villages, where they witnessed how the Chinese people, especially minorities, have learned to live in the cold, the snow, the hot southern plains and on the sea.
Chen brought his mobile studio to small villages, and everywhere he received a warm welcome. From 2008 to 2009, more than 150 experts, historians and anthropologists came together to research everything from the most typical villages to the most extraordinary traditional dress.
BOOK
Harmonious China, Pictures of China’s 56 Ethnic Groups
Hardcover: 460 pages
Publisher: Shanghai Culture Publishing House (2009)
English
$225
available on Amazon
