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itemprop="datePublished" content="2019-12-01T08:00:00.000Z"> <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2019-12-01T08:00:00.000Z"> <header class="post-header header-long-horizontal no-caption"><div class="wrap"><div class="details-wrapper"><div class="details container"><div class="markers"><div class="pre-heading is-montserrat"><meta itemprop="headline" content="Revisiting a Chinese photographer’s work in the wake of his arrest"> <h2 class="title is-5"><a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/format/photo-essay" class="topic-name"> Photo Essay </a> <a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/media" class="theme">Media </a></h2></div> <h1 class="title post-title is-serif is-1-desktop is-3"> In the Eye of the Storm </h1> <p class="short-desc is-roboto"> Revisiting a Chinese photographer’s work in the wake of his arrest </p></div> <div class="author-details is-size-7 is-montserrat"><div class="w"><div class="authors-wrap"><span class="main-authors"><span class="pre-byline">photographs by</span> <div class="authors is-montserrat"><div class="author"><span itemscope itemprop="author" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"> <a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24857">Lu Guang</a> <meta itemprop="sameAs" content="https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24857"> <meta itemprop="name" content="Lu Guang"> </span></div></div></span> <div class="contributors-wrap"><div class="contribution"><span class="c-t">Text by</span> <div class="contributors is-montserrat"><div class="author"><a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/author/14639">Karishma Koshal </a></div></div></div></div></div> <span class="date">01 December 2019</span></div></div> <a href="#" class="gallery-icon-wrapper is-montserrat"><i class="icon icon-gallery"></i> View Gallery </a></div></div> <div class="cover"> <figure itemprop="image" content="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6"><div class="figure-wrap" style="background-position:center;background-size:cover;"><div class="img-wrap"><span class="af"></span> <img height="1280" width="1920" data-srcset="//web.archive.org/web/20201229005824im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6=s640?nocheck=gplus 640w, //web.archive.org/web/20201229005824im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6=s800?nocheck=gplus 800w, //web.archive.org/web/20201229005824im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6=s1200?nocheck=gplus 1200w, //web.archive.org/web/20201229005824im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6=s1500?nocheck=gplus 1500w, //web.archive.org/web/20201229005824im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TOA_6ShthkttBsrZtlM5u73zZBQQEh-Sjg_F3a5j1l6diWtZCiB5r85nF8pO87MKVGC-HyQ9UH0jbvq6pD89Cze6=s1900?nocheck=gplus 1900w" class="type:primaryImage" style="object-position:50% 100%;"></div></div> <figcaption><span class="caption is-roboto"></span>  </figcaption></figure></div></div> <div class="caption-content container is-roboto"><figcaption><span class="caption"></span>  </figcaption></div> </header> <div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column content-container"><article id="single-article" class="post is-long-horizontal"><div class="content"><div class="w is-calluna"> <div itemprop="articleBody" class="t">   <p><strong>A WOMAN CLUTCHES AN INFANT</strong> in a cloud of dust as three children wait behind her; a flock of sheep made of cement stands in a dusty field with discoloured grass; the skies in Inner Mongolia and Hebei province are uniformly brown and grey. A fog hangs over Lu Guang’s photographed landscapes, adding a dystopian quality to them. The dust and soot on the faces of nearly all of the people photographed by Lu, a Chinese photographer, reveal that despite its formidable economic growth, the country’s ecosystems are in crisis.</p><p>Lu’s project <em>Aids Village in Henan</em> documents residents of China’s Henan province, many of whom had been subjected to illegal blood transfusions that resulted in an AIDS epidemic. As a consequence of his coverage of the villages, the Beijing authorities and the Henan provincial government were moved to improve the living conditions in the villages. The Henan government even relied on Lu’s photos to identify people and provide them with daily necessities and free medicines. “That’s when I realised that my photography could have a real impact and it gave me a sense of mission,” Lu said, in a 2018 interview with the <em>Financial Times</em>.</p><p>In the same interview, Lu said, “I wasn’t arrested and didn’t have any major problems, so this signaled a big change for other Chinese photographers.” He elaborated on how working independently—the curator Jean Loh once described him, in an essay, as a “lone wolf” because he is not affiliated with a media group—afforded him certain freedoms. “It’s very different for photographers who work for official Chinese media,” Lu said. “If their pictures are published in the foreign press, they’re immediately out of a job.” Previously, in a 2011 interview to <em>World Press Photo, </em>Lu talked about his run-ins with the local authorities in China. “I always get caught by them when I am taking photos. But usually I can deal with the situation with various tactics. Until now, nothing serious has happened to me. For example, they want to take my camera, beat me up. It’s OK. Nothing serious.”</p>  <div><div class="subscribe-plan"><a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/subscribe?ref=5703"><div class="paywall_wrapper"><h4 class="title is-4"> Get unlimited access <br> to India's finest Magazine <br> of Politics and Culture </h4> <img width="495" height="306" data-src="//web.archive.org/web/20201229005824/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Nu3M93Xu31UoEzh6Qj5oNz-G2Gmcfxdx3XqIBuRWgqBe4QIpDW-VMejn3uZuQ0hfgNGKaTDPAWd_Ag8w1lgkIUmwC5eRxG6-nah9wHg=s500" class="lazyload blur-up"> <div class="plan_list is-roboto"><div class="item"> Print + Digital Plans at <b>₹ 1800/year</b></div> <div class="item"> Digital Plans at <b>₹ 1200/year</b></div></div> <button class="button is-primary is-montserrat"> Subscribe </button></div></a> <p class="hint is-roboto"> Already a subscriber? <strong><a href="#">Sign in</a></strong></p></div></div></div> <div class="authors is-roboto"><div class="about-author"><p><a href="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24857">Lu Guang</a> <span>is an independent photographer from Zhejiang province in China. He has won three World Press Photo awards as part of different categories. In 2009, he recieved the W Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography.</span></p></div> </div> <meta itemprop="keywords" content=""> </div>  </div></article></div> </div></div> <div itemprop="publisher copyrightHolder provider sourceOrganization" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><span itemprop="logo" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/caravan-logo.png"></span> <meta itemprop="name" content="The Caravan"></div></article> <div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column comments-container"><div id="list-all-comments" class="article-comments"><div class="create-comment-wrapper is-montserrat"><div class="w is-flex"><h5 class="title is-montserrat is-6"><span>COMMENT</span> </h5> </div> <form action="/web/20201229005824/https://caravanmagazine.in/comments" method="post" class="comment-form"><div class="field"><textarea rows="2" placeholder="Type your comment" class="textarea is-roboto"></textarea></div> <div class="field float-right"><input type="submit" value="Submit" class="button is-primary is-montserrat is-large"></div></form></div>  <div class="comment-list is-roboto"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="columns"><div class="column is-12"><div class="related-articles"> <div class="wrap"></div></div></div></div></div>  </div></div> <footer class="footer"></footer> <div class="modal is-roboto user-modal" style="display:none;"><div class="modal-background"></div> <div class="modal-content"><div class="card"><div class="card-content"><div class="field align-center"><p class="control login-controls is-serif"><a class="is-active">Login</a> <span> / </span> <a>Register</a></p></div> <div class="field"><div class="line"></div></div> <div class="field align-center"><a class="button button is-default is-montserrat google-login"><span class="icon is-small"><i><img data-src="//web.archive.org/web/20201229005824/https://storage.googleapis.com/caravan-b/assets/google-signin.svg" alt="" class="lazyload"></i></span> <span>Sign in with Google</span></a></div> <div class="field align-center"> OR </div> <form action="" class="logon-form is-montserrat"><label for="" class="label">Email</label> <div class="field"><input type="text" name="email" autocomplete="email" value="" class="input"></div> <div class="field"><label for="" class="label">Password</label> <input type="password" name="password" autocomplete="current-password" value="" class="input"></div> <div class="field center-button"><button class="button is-primary is-montserrat">Login</button></div> <div class="is-clipped"><p class="is-pulled-right is-size-6"><a href="#">Forgot password?</a></p></div></form></div></div></div></div>  <div class="m-disturber"><div class="content-w" style="display:none;"><div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column is-8"><div class="tablet-wrapper"><div class="bottom-notifier"><div class="title-wrapper is-montserrat"><h6 class="title is-6"></h6></div> <div class="text-wrap"><button class="delete"></button> <p class="is-roboto-en msg"></p> <button class="subscribe button is-primary is-montserrat is-uppercase is-small"> Notify Me </button> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><script>window.__CARAVAN__=(function(a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L){return {layout:"default",data:[{data:{article:{id:s,title:t,slug:"\u002Fphoto-essay\u002Frevisiting-chinese-photographers-work-arrest",printTitle:"In the Eye of the Storm",subHeading:"",description:"Lu Guang was arrested by the Chinese security forces in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in China that is at the centre of China’s crackdown on the Uighurs.",hasContributors:u,coverPhotoId:n,topicId:v,themeId:o,style:4,data:{type:"doc",content:[{type:"gallery",attrs:{title:"Something"},content:[{type:e,attrs:{h:c,w:d,id:n,src:w},content:[{type:f,content:[{text:x,type:a},{type:g},{text:"Plastic models of sheep were placed by the local government next to the city of Holingol’s power station. 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The highway is engulfed in dust and visibility is less than 50 metres.",type:a}]},{type:h}]},{type:e,attrs:{h:c,w:d,id:"14260",src:"\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20201229005824\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Flh3.googleusercontent.com\u002FFli3SQ4c5fPaJvz9v699av_n4e8iRG96rTGyNRnB-jddJVgerOmVoOLrJDj7ZUk4JI8MlurFSB4Zpqs4PPcPMSWmXA=s0"},content:[{type:f,content:[{text:p,type:a},{type:g},{text:"Grass in the prairies near the prefectures of Ordos and Wuhai, in Inner Mongolia, is covered with dust and pollution from the Qipanjing power plant in Ordos. The pollution has severely aﬀected sheep grazing in the polluted prairies.",type:a}]},{type:h}]},{type:e,attrs:{h:c,w:d,id:"14261",src:"\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20201229005824\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Flh3.googleusercontent.com\u002FGfkbqa5CJv2hhMM1rmENF7lsJjOZqFeC8DAz2djTJyen0fbrFPOMWhLxQajMOyvD9qjdFguVyPSHOeZimw0xuCGKUg=s0"},content:[{type:f,content:[{text:z,type:a},{type:g},{text:"A worker in a factory in Wuhai. Factory workers often fall ill within a couple of years of employment.",type:a}]},{type:h}]},{type:j,content:[{text:"Put your pictures here",type:a}]}]},{type:j,content:[{text:"A WOMAN CLUTCHES AN INFANT",type:a,marks:[{type:"strong"}]},{text:" in a cloud of dust as three children wait behind her; a flock of sheep made of cement stands in a dusty field with discoloured grass; the skies in Inner Mongolia and Hebei province are uniformly brown and grey. A fog hangs over Lu Guang’s photographed landscapes, adding a dystopian quality to them. The dust and soot on the faces of nearly all of the people photographed by Lu, a Chinese photographer, reveal that despite its formidable economic growth, the country’s ecosystems are in crisis.",type:a}]},{type:j,content:[{text:"Lu’s project ",type:a},{text:"Aids Village in Henan",type:a,marks:[{type:k}]},{text:" documents residents of China’s Henan province, many of whom had been subjected to illegal blood transfusions that resulted in an AIDS epidemic. As a consequence of his coverage of the villages, the Beijing authorities and the Henan provincial government were moved to improve the living conditions in the villages. The Henan government even relied on Lu’s photos to identify people and provide them with daily necessities and free medicines. “That’s when I realised that my photography could have a real impact and it gave me a sense of mission,” Lu said, in a 2018 interview with the ",type:a},{text:"Financial Times",type:a,marks:[{type:k}]},{text:".",type:a}]},{type:j,content:[{text:"In the same interview, Lu said, “I wasn’t arrested and didn’t have any major problems, so this signaled a big change for other Chinese photographers.” He elaborated on how working independently—the curator Jean Loh once described him, in an essay, as a “lone wolf” because he is not affiliated with a media group—afforded him certain freedoms. “It’s very different for photographers who work for official Chinese media,” Lu said. “If their pictures are published in the foreign press, they’re immediately out of a job.” Previously, in a 2011 interview to ",type:a},{text:"World Press Photo, ",type:a,marks:[{type:k}]},{text:"Lu talked about his run-ins with the local authorities in China. “I always get caught by them when I am taking photos. But usually I can deal with the situation with various tactics. Until now, nothing serious has happened to me. For example, they want to take my camera, beat me up. It’s OK. Nothing serious.”",type:a}]}]},wpId:b,writtenAt:A,createdAt:"2019-11-30T19:15:58.526Z",updatedAt:A,isPremium:u,isWeb:i,isPublished:l,lang:B,seoTitle:t,keywords:["Xinjiang","Uighurs","Press Freedom",q,"Pollution"],design:{cover:"bottom",banner:[3.29,26.32,90.91,71.59],bannerPhoto:{id:"14296",url:"\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20201229005824\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Flh3.googleusercontent.com\u002FS3anNDYSw-xdKG5n6aFs7fpgFPNADAdUDKK6EefoXQ_b0MVdrzunKtjMEXIxwGTBxTXy6O--Enc08FzUPrn6OeKIWqg=s0"}},preAuthor:"photographs by",freeUntil:b,hasNotified:m,hasAds:l,theme:{id:o,name:r,slug:C},themes:[{id:D,name:E,slug:"society",parentId:b,priority:3,lang:i,createdAt:F,updatedAt:F,hiName:"समाज"},{id:o,name:r,slug:C,parentId:b,priority:29,lang:i,createdAt:G,updatedAt:G,hiName:"मीडिया"},{id:"1",name:H,slug:"politics",parentId:b,priority:40,lang:i,createdAt:I,updatedAt:I,hiName:"राजनीति"},{id:"13",name:q,slug:"environment",parentId:D,priority:12,lang:i,createdAt:J,updatedAt:J,hiName:"पर्यावरण"}],coverPhoto:{id:n,title:"01_IN THE EYE OF THE STORM_The caravan magazine_December_2019.jpg",src:"caravan-b\u002Fimg\u002F2p4ys.jpg",path:b,data:{h:c,w:d,url:w},createdAt:K,updatedAt:K},topic:{id:v,name:"Photo Essay",slug:"photo-essay"},authors:[{id:"24857",name:"Lu Guang",info:{data:[{text:"is an independent photographer from Zhejiang province in China. 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