The Abundance of Mushrooms

The Mushrooms, Shangri-la, Yunnan, China.

All of my editing has reminded me to share more photos from China here. Despite the fact that I am Chinese, I had a hard time eating and getting a balanced diet in China. Most days I skipped meat and countless numbers of restaurants because they did not look sanitary in the way that I was used to. In Taiwan, where I grew up, I eat lots of street food and night markets are my favorite places to sample small eats. China is different, especially rural China. Running water is not a given. Neither is electricity. Or a restroom within the restaurant. Then there's the problem of soap. In China, I travel with plenty of tissue (not provided 99% of the time), soap, and water. Even after taking those precautions, I remained careful about choosing a restaurant that looked clean.

The only place where food was not a worry was in Dali, Yunnan (western China). Dali has a temperate climate and is warmer than locales north such a Lijiang and Shangri-la. There was a wonderful pay-as-you-wish veggie place that volunteer Buddhists ran that I frequented. And the best part was that mushroom season is during summertime in Yunnan. There was a gorgeous abundance of it everywhere as I sampled many wild varieties cooked up in all sorts of delicious ways. It was heaven eating mushrooms daily and having lots of vegetables. This batch of mushrooms drying was taken on the streets of Shangri-la.

The Prayer Flags

The Prayer Flags, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.

Prayer flags are a colorful celebration of life. Looking at this one makes me smile. Sending positive energy your way. xx

On the Mountain

The Monks, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.

Part of our plan last summer was to try to travel to western Sichuan province, where there are Tibet Autonomous Regions. Alas, it wasn't meant to be as these area were closed to foreigners since an incident of self immolation occurred earlier last year. However, we did join a gathering of monks who traveled from all over China to Wenbi Monastery in Lijiang and communed with them. This was a magical moment of old, young, and a little girl laying on the roof, on top of the mountain.

Artist Quotes

The Gang, Zhaoxing, Guizhou, China.

Andy Adams of Flak Photo has been posting some great quotes on fb that are resonating with me. I've been in the organizing state of mind with my images for months now and feel the Baltz quote in every part of my work day. I'm reposting them to share with you and also to keep them on file here.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliot Erwitt

“Anyone can take pictures. What’s difficult is thinking about them, organizing them, and trying to use them in some way so that some meaning can be constructed out of them. That’s really where the work of the artist begins” – Lewis Baltz

And here are some updates to add to the dialogue: 1. Obama's plan to reduce gun violence and 2. NY passes strictest gun control laws in the Nation via Nina.

This Chinese Life

I've been working hard at editing This Chinese Life, much of it taken over two plus months of traveling through China this past summer. Here's an edit of 35, I'd love to know what your thoughts are on the series. My goal is to get to a point where I can share a pic a day starting in Jan.

The Lion in My Room

Here's a little corner of my work space. I picked up the photo by Huang Qingjun and Ma Hongjie at 798 Photo Gallery in Beijing over the summer. The duo photographs people with their possessions outside of their dwellings. The concept is one that is so engaging on many levels. I saw their work at AIPAD earlier this year and was completely fascinated by it so I was happy to find their gallery while walking around the 798 art zone. The lion container is something that caught my eye at an antique shop down the street that was closed. We contacted the owner about a chair we saw in the window and he let us in to buy the chair and pick through everything that was left. I was drawn to it but didn't know if it fit "me." Since the owner gave us a great deal on a bunch of things, I took this guy home and have no regrets. I love looking at him everyday.

Family Collections

My Uncle, Aunt, and Mom in Wuhan, China

C.C. Wang's art collection has been at the heart of the lawsuit between two of his children. When I read the NYTimes article, an echo rang out from my own family history. While my grandparents did not have priceless art treasures in their collections, they did flee the Communists in '49 and leave behind a daughter to be raised by her grandmother and other relatives. Whatever the reason may have been (quite unfathomable for me), this rift cannot be completely mended for my aunt who was left behind nor for C.C. Wang's son. We didn't have a family reunion until 2007 when I flew with my mom so that she could meet her sister for the first time in China, joined by her brother from Taiwan. It was a touching moment when my mom bonded with her sister in the flesh. And I have to be grateful that there isn't any worldly riches for them to bicker over.

My Prints available on The Feature Shoot Shop right now!

Three of my prints (shown below) are available on the Feature Shoot Shop including one of my all time favorites, Balls, from the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Thanks Alison!



Balls, Lofoten Islands, Norway Rona Chang



Stuck, Huacachina Oasis, Peru Rona Chang



Ring Toss, Wuhan, China Rona Chang

Current events

This NYTimes article about immigrant families scammed by a "pastor" in Corona, Queens is so sad. How can one even begin thinking of taking advantage of the disadvantaged? On a more positive note, this other NYTimes article gives me hope for those in China. This incident occurred in my grandmother's province. The internet may prove to be their salvation against corruption and evil. What a brave girl.

China's City of Ambition

I met Ferit at Fotofest and he showed me prints of his project, City of Ambition, photographs of Chongqing, China. Chongqing is the largest growing City in China, and when I visited in 2006, I felt that I could really stay there a long time and make a body of work there. Ferit and bonded over the impressions that the city had left me. Spend some time on Ferit's site, it's well worth it. I hope he gets a book deal soon.

Following the Chinese food trail

My friend Teresa recently sent me this NYTimes article about finding Beijing in Flushing. Flushing is an area in Queens, New York that has long been a second Chinatown in NYC. This article highlighted a bunch of places I had never heard of and some food I was not familiar with. With my friend Liu in town, we ventured forth with our appetites.

There is a download-able map from the NYTimes article. We tried the Dan Dan noodles at Golden Mall (no.9) and their version of the wontons in hot sauce. Both really good and spicy (food is from Sichuan and the peppers they use are of the numbing variety). I really wanted to try no. 13 but Shi Hong Mall was closed for renovation so we headed back to Golden Mall. We picked no. 11 from the list and proceeded to order dumplings (10 for $2) and a bowl of vegetable handmade noodles. The texture of the dumpling skin and the noodles were perfect. The dumplings were perfectly juicy as well. (This is coming from someone who avoids dumplings for fear of having a bad one.) The stall across from no. 11 sold Xi'an lamb sandwiches with cumin and red onions. ($2.50 for one.) I really liked this as well (not too much meat, which was perfect for me, and lots of cumin.) For dessert we hit up no. 1 on the list, a huge bowl of red bean ice for $3.75 big enough for four people. It wasn't anything special but did quench my thirst and put a sweet taste in my mouth.


This is Liu eating his third dinner. I did not partake in this meal.


Red bean over shaved ice.

Up the Yangtze

My friend David mentioned the documentary, Up the Yangtze, in passing a couple of weeks ago because he knew that I had a bit of a thing for the Yangtze River. By then, I had already missed the screenings in NYC. Since I knew I was going to be in Pittsburgh over Labor Day weekend, I made plans to see it there. Wow, am I glad I did.

It's an amazing film that follows the life of a 15 year old girl. Her family lives on the banks of the river in a shack, which will soon be flooded. Her parents, unable to provide for her schooling, sends her to work on one of the luxury cruise ships on the Yangtze. It's an amazing view into her life, the changes that occur through the course of the film and an insight into the lives of the people directly affected. I loved the opening scene where the ships are rising in the locks and passing through, a great metaphor for the movie. Go see it if it's playing near you.

(photo taken by me in 2006. Sinking Down, Gezouba, Yichang, China)

Worrisome news from China

China is now rushing to evacuate people from an area north of where the quake hit on May 12th. This image and accompanying article from the NYTimes is gut wrenching as the possibilities for flooding threatens the lives of 150,000 citizens.

(photo from the NYTimes)

What about the dams?

My mother called her sister in Wuhan last night to see if they were affected by the earthquake in Sichuan, China. My aunt and her family felt the quake and are fine. While thinking about them this morning, I started wondering if the Three Gorges Dam was ok. They live 4 hours down river from the largest dam in the world, in a metropolitan city that's along the Yangtze. This NYTimes article made me feel a bit better but I'm still uneasy about all of those affected by the quake.

(photo that I took in 2006 of the Three Gorges Dam)

Hakka heritage

In the travel section of the NYTimes, I found this article on The Earthen Homes of Yongding County, in Fujian, China. I had seen a miniature version of this type of structure at "Windows on the World" in Taiwan. The Hakkas (I am ethnically Hakka on my father's side) have built these interesting earthen structures and they are now being considered for UNESCO heritage site designation.

On another Hakka note, I was sorting through a box of my dad's stuff last night and found our family genealogy handbook. I brought it to my mom, who helped me sort out how I should decipher the charts. Hakkas tend to favour male decendents and no where is it more obvious than in the family charts where only male decendents are listed. For example, our family tree shows my grandfather and my grandmother's name, below them, only their four sons names are listed, none of my five aunts are included. On the page where my family is listed, my father does not have any children listed under him (I have one other sibling, a sister) and my uncles who have sons have their names listed, but not their daughters. My mom commented that this was a heavy bias, maybe I should consider getting rid of the book!

(Photo by Barbara Koh from the NYTimes.)

Bridging the Gulf

The BBC reports on the China-Taiwan meeting that recently took place in Southern China. If the gulf is indeed bridged, travel restrictions will be the first indicators of this, allowing Mainlanders more access to the Island. Personally, direct flights between China and Taiwan would simplify and shorten travel for me when I visit family in both places.

"The People's Republic Learns to Drive"

I just read Peter Hessler's Wheels of Fortune where he chronicles his driving history in China along with some observatory remarks as a foreigner from the Nov. 26, 2006 issue of the New Yorker. It is a wonderfully insightful article on Chinese road behavior.

Michael Wolf's Hong Kong

I came across Michael Wolf's work via the Asian Photography Blog. Having just landed from Hong Kong, his work really resonates with what has been on my mind in the last couple of weeks. My favorite series is 100x100- "photographs of residents in their flats in Hong Kong's oldest public housing estate: 100 rooms, each 100 square feet in size." Architecture of Density, Real Fake Pictures (taken in China) are also quite interesting.

(photos from Michael Wolf's 100x100 series)

Sometimes the internet just amazes me. My friend Liu just told me that he read about my work on a Chinese photo blog last night. He sent the link and indeed they wrote quite a bit about me and this photo taken in the Forbidden City in 2006.

Courtyard hotels in Beijing

For Beijing, I wanted to stay in a courtyard hotel, to have the charms of an intimate guest house in a big city. A quick google search led me to Sino Hotel which helped me book Zhongtang , a nice siheyuan (a compound with houses around a square courtyard). The service was excellent and included a nice breakfast. The room was clean, cozy, well decorated, and most importantly- warm! (It was the last week of the year afterall.) They helped book a Great Wall tour (Simatai section- less touristy and spectacularly steep), and I would definitely recommend this little charming place.