See You in a Flash

Jia Zhangke’s Unknown Pleasures still hits home, 13 years later

A failed mountain trip in the first week of October brought me to Taiyuan, the capital of coal-laden Shanxi province in the north of China. If the drab surroundings weren’t enough, I knew it was not a bustling ‘global city’ when I passed a woman who stopped right in her tracks, shopping bags in hands and all, to stare at my face. Over the course of the next two hours or so I would find myself…

Beijing & Hebei, a set on Flickr.

Arrival in China: Life in Huailai, Hebei province

Huailai is a different story from China’s capital. This developing town is benefitting from its close location – only 100 km – from Beijing. Huailai is part of Zhangjiakou, what the Chinese call a ‘prefecture-level city’ but what would be called a province in most countries – Chinese provinces by themselves are of sizes comparable to many European countries.

Essentially It’s still the real, raw…