MICHAELCHRISTOPHERBROWN

ARCHIVE 2: 2006 - EAST CHNA

Spring/Fall

The emergence of capitalism has the Chinese caught between two belief systems. The booming markets and infrastructure, coupled with an authoritarian government reluctant to fully embrace them, has forced millions to adapt to the magnitude, and meaning, of this powerful new experiment.

Red lanterns are stored in a room inside an artificial mountain at Song Dynasty Theme Park, Hangzhou. Lanterns are traditional symbols of good luck and prosperity in China.
   
New recruits of the People’s Liberation Army, originally called the “Red Army” and the largest army in the world, leave the Wuhan train station in Hubei.
   
Shanghai's Jinmao Tower is the tallest building in China.Jinmao means "Golden Prosperity" and the building contains the five-star Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel, numerous clubs and restaurants, and a shopping mall, among other facilities.
     
  
Wang Zi Lin waits for customers during a slow evening of bread sales on a street close to home.Zi Lin, 48, a steamed bread maker, was born in the countryside and moved to Xinye (literally meaning "New Frontier"), Henan, in 1988 with 100 RMB (~$12) a friend had lent him. Zi Lin, his wife and their three toddlers lived on the street for a couple days before Zi Lin decided to invest in bread making equipment. At that time he would awake at 3am and work until after dark, using no machinery while making bread three times a day. Now, because Zi Lin's wife, son and daughter work other jobs and help contribute to the family income, he must make bread only once a day.
  
Apartment buildings.
   
Schoolchildren visit an Arcade inside the South China Mall, the largest shopping mall in China and arguably the largest in the world, located in Dongguan. Designed by architects from the United States and France, the mall, an oasis of entertainment for many citizens and visitors, is still under construction.
     
  
   
  
A Macanese structure provides an elevated view of the ocean.In 1999, Macau, a Portuguese colony for over 400 years, returned to China control and became a Special Administrative Region. SAR status gives Macau a high degree of autonomy from Beijing, with a separate political system and a capitalist economy.
     
  
A tourist mecca, Shanghai's Nanjing Road, the main shopping street of Shanghai and one of the world's busiest shopping streets, is a grand symbol of China’s economic boom.
   
Children play inside a Portuguese influenced amphitheatre in Macau. In 1999, Macau, a Portuguese colony for over 400 years, returned to China control and became a Special Administrative Region. SAR status gives Macau a high degree of autonomy from Beijing, with a separate political system and a capitalist economy.
   
A family waits in line to get visas for the China mainland. Hong Kong Island.
     
  
Late night workers at the shipping docks in Macau. Though China officially established Macau as a foreign trade port in 1685, since the 5th century merchant ships traveling between Southeast Asia and Guangzhou have used Macau as a way stop for refuge, fresh water, and food.
   
A woman waits for a shipment outside her home in the Old Canton neighborhood of Guangzhou.
   
Fisherman's Wharf. Macau.In 1999, Macau, a Portuguese colony for over 400 years, returned to China control and became a Special Administrative Region. SAR status gives Macau a high degree of autonomy from Beijing, with a separate political system and a capitalist economy.
     
  
A heated indoor pool scene in Guangzhou, photographed through a foggy camera lens.
   
Advertisements for casino entertainment cover a city bus in Macau. Besides historical Chinese and Portuguese world-heritage relics, Macau's biggest attraction is its gambling industry and casinos.In 1999, Macau, a Portuguese colony for over 400 years, returned to China control and became a Special Administrative Region. SAR status gives Macau a high degree of autonomy from Beijing, with a separate political system and a capitalist economy.
   
     
  
Shoppers sit on couches inside an Ikea store in Guangzhou.
   
Pedestrians in an underground walkway near the central train station in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.
   
The mix of authoritarianism and liberal capitalist economics has created the ideal environment for a gambling boom in the former Portuguese colony of Macau. Known as the Las Vegas of Asia, in recent years more and more American-style casinos and hotels have been built. A replica of the Venetian Hotel, the famous hotel in Las Vegas, is currently under construction.
     
  
Pedestrians pass by an architect's drawing of the potential future development of Pudong District in Shanghai.
   
Watching the annual Grand Prix race from a highway overpass in Macau.
   
Wang Zi Lin enters a room in his home where an illustration of a Chinese landscape hangs on the wall. “The painting hangs here to make the house pretty,” he said.Zi Lin, 48, a steamed bread maker, was born in the countryside and moved to Xinye (literally meaning "New Frontier"), Henan, in 1988 with 100 RMB (~$12) a friend had lent him. Zi Lin, his wife and their three toddlers lived on the street for a couple days before Zi Lin decided to invest in bread making equipment. At that time he would awake at 3am and work until after dark, using no machinery while making bread three times a day. Now, because Zi Lin's wife, son and daughter work other jobs and help contribute to the family income, he must make bread only once a day. "But this big house was built by making Mantou," Zi Lin said.
     
  
With the arrival of capitalism in China, umpteen state-owned enterprises have vanished, taking jobs with them. Many prostitutes in China work out of hair salons that have a very basic room behind them in which they see clients. For countless young women, such as Ms. Hong in Xiangfan, Hubei, prostitution is the only way to make a living, especially in the more impoverished areas of the country.
   
A pedestrian passes by a barbers' mirror in Shanghai.
   
Businessmen play cards on a train originating in Shanghai and bound for the countryside of Anhui Province.