Life and Travel in China

I haven't spoken to you in a long time and I haven't added new photos for a long time. I can explain myself again as having too many responsibilities. In addition, I have started cooperation with a well-known photography agency and I try to add photos that will be used in the press, books and all kinds of publications. While reading the book "Get a Photo. My History of Press Photography" by John Morris, I realized how important photos are (I don't mean the file size in MB ;-) ), how important a role they play in the world. Most of the photos I present here tell a story. At this stage, these are my stories and my memories, although I would like to share them on a larger scale. I once mentioned that by manipulating the description of a photo and cropping it appropriately, you can achieve the intended effect. Of course I don't like this. The photo should be authentic, real. The word 'objectivity' and 'lens' (of a camera) are very close. While sound, image and text content can be manipulated and lie (which we can see every day in the Polish media), a photo is more difficult to manipulate and use in a subjective way. Therefore, a photo is not a tool, but a work, an expression of something, evidence. I like the term 'authentic fact', although linguists make fun of it. It seems to me that there are fewer and fewer authentic facts in the media, but we have many twisted and manipulated facts that currently serve primarily to break up Polish society, maintain tensions and quarrels. There is censorship in China and there is only one correct version of all events. This is hypocrisy, oppression, restriction of freedom, but at the same time it blocks the division of society, the nation is uniform and in a sense harmonious (of course, all minorities living in the Middle Kingdom are harmed here). Coming back to the essence of my post - photography shapes the worldview, tells different stories and I would like my photos to be more useful. I also plan to scan all archive photos from China from 2003-2006, maybe then I will find some more 'gems' that I will share on this website.

Just 10-15 years ago, most goods produced in China were intended for export. Few people could afford decent household appliances or electronic toys, and no one paid attention to branded shoes or clothes. Currently, the vast majority of technologically advanced phones, computers, household appliances, modern toys, decent clothes, shoes and watches go to the domestic Chinese market. Back in 2004, I remember that there weren't many toy stores in China, but that's where the vast majority of toys for the entire world are produced. Lego stores and boutiques selling electronic gadgets and technologically advanced toys have been operating for several years now, and the shelves in hypermarkets are full of various toys. The Chinese now have enormous purchasing power, and many corporations and designers take advantage of this situation by dictating arbitrary prices for their products and services. In China, it is no longer a question of 'Can anyone afford it?', it is only a question of 'How many thousands of people will buy this product?' For several years now, China has been a great market for branded handbags, shoes, yachts, sports cars, unique jewelry and works of art. The Chinese treat such large-scale purchases as fun, investment and prestige. Unfortunately, it is also associated with the corruption of society, because many young people do not know the value of money and do not know what hard work is. While their parents (the generation that is now 40-50 years old) remember poverty or even hunger, they already live in a modern superpower such as China.

In 2005 or 2006, while talking on a forum with a Polish woman who had settled in Hong Kong, I once got into a nervous discussion. The woman had a husband from Hong Kong and she looked at 'ordinary' Mainland Chinese with some contempt. She then made fun of the fact that in Shenzhen you can buy Panascanic, Soma, etc. equipment. Of course, she meant cheap fakes with deliberately misspelled letters and similar-sounding names of well-known brands. Now I want to laugh at her opinion when I see Robert Lewandowski advertising Huawei. Most Poles already know and admire Xiaomi phones, many can pronounce the name correctly. These are brands that have achieved a very good level of technological advancement and have already defeated competitors such as Samsung and Apple. I remember that 2-3 years ago every Chinese used an iPhone or Samsung, the newer and the bigger the better. Currently, many Chinese people freely use Xiaomi, Lenovo, Huawei, Vivo, Oppo or TCL phones. Just ten years ago, people like this Polish woman from Hong Kong made fun of Chinese products. Now I laugh at the fact that these products have become so popular even in Poland and they are by no means synonymous with cheap Chinese fakes. China has taken millions of small steps towards development and technological progress. Of course, they can be accused of following something, borrowing something, counterfeiting something, but for decades they were a nation isolated from the rest of the world. I think they are on a very good track now and I admire their ambition and hard work.

I feel like traffic in China is like flowing water in a stream. It will always find an outlet. The intersections are so congested that the application of any regulations would not be justified. The police are very tolerant. Changing lanes, turning from the wrong lane, jostling between pedestrians, cars and cyclists are everyday life here. Interestingly, there are few accidents with this driving style. Moreover, no one gets irritated when another car cuts in and passes at a distance of literally 5 cm. For many observers, this traffic is shocking, but resourcefulness wins. Just move forward.

A Chinese man reminded everyone on WeChat (the most popular smartphone messenger in China) that the Chinese are too involved in Western culture. He reminded everyone that December 26 is not "f... Christmas, but the birth anniversary of the leader Mao Zedong"! Maybe it would be understandable if he referred to other holidays in the Middle Kingdom or Chinese customs (which are permanently present in the lunar calendar), but Mao's birthday?! Seriously... as you can see, some people still live under the influence of strong propaganda from the past.