Travel photos taken by a stranger seldom fascinate. But 800 color images captured by Tom Carter as he spent two years on the road, traveling 56,000 kilometers through all of China’s 33 provinces, make a dramatic exception. Along the way, Carter’s camera-shutter clicked more than 10,000 times.
The best of Carter’s pictures fill a bulky book, China: Portrait of a People (2008, Blacksmith Books and Haven Books, Hong Kong, 640 pages, HK$280).
“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 said. “But I delight in the challenges that a country like China poses. This book is a tribute to all the people I met along the way.”
Promotional blurbs exaggerate by claiming that the book “breaks all the stereotypes of the Chinese”. As the world’s most populous nation, China holds enormous diversity. That’s neither a secret, nor a surprise. But Carter succeeds brilliantly in giving precious glimpses at many of the nation’s people, its 56 ethnic groups and their customs.
Apparently, Carter aimed his camera at nearly everyone: dancing students, smiling seniors, sooty coal miners, tattooed gangsters, military recruits, young monks, weary auto-workers, street-side dentists, river-boat riders, fowl-toting farmers, hitch-hiking Tibetans, amputee beggars, jade peddlers, melon merchants, Mongolian cowboys and many more.
“Where I have been, you will be,” Carter said. “What I have seen, you will see.” By traveling on the cheap and staying at 15-RMB guesthouses, he met folks that most tourists never do. “It wasn’t uncommon for mine to be the first foreign face to be seen in many of the villages I passed through.
“From the subtropical jungles of Yunnan in southwest China to the frozen wastes of Siberia in Heilongjiang; across the deserts of Xinjiang and beneath Hong Kong’s neon blur. Tramping through China by train, bus, boat, motorcycle, mule, foot or hitching a ride on the back of anything that moved, I succeeded in visiting more than one-third of China’s cities and villages – on a very limited budget.
“I wanted to show the people,” Carter said. “I don’t believe any book can capture the true spirit of a country with only pictures of places…. Most of my photos came about as a natural result of my curiosity and interaction with people. I don’t believe in hiding behind a zoon lens – I was actually as near to all those people as you see in the pictures. The candid life shots were more of 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.”
Readers may ponder the book’s unusual shape and format. It’s a hefty paperback, six-inches square and 2.5 inches thick. Carter’s photos might have looked even better in a more traditional large-format, hardcover book. But there’s also a benefit in standing apart from the competition.
Originally from San Francisco, 35-year-old Carter has backpacked through Mexico, Cuba and Central America too. In 2004, he arrived in China to teach English. Now his photos and travel tales grace many of the country’s English periodicals.
Portrait of a People counts as his first book. Presumably, he’ll do more, motivated by that “big world” out there.
Carter’s weighty book takes an effort to carry home from a store. But anyone interested in China should love owning it.
Approval rating: 81 per cent.
For more information: www.blacksmithbooks.com or www.havenbooksonline.com
(October 7, 2007)
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