China

Back in 1983, at just 22 years old, I was traveling in India, carrying my extensive photographic equipment. This was my second trip to India and I had returned for a minimum of 6 months, to travel the land shooting pictures. I had brought all my photo gear, two Nikon F2aAS and 4 lens ranging from 24mm to 300mm. I also had motor drives and filters. I was ready for any photo opportunity. The only opportunity I was not prepared for was theft. Three days into a 6 month trip, my photo bag was stolen. After shock and anger passed, I dried my tears, bid farewell to my pricey equipment and considered my options. Obviously I needed to change my plans and reinvest some of my traveling money into photo gear. But where to buy? I thought about going to Singapore or Hong-Kong where the electronics were cheap and good. While debating my options, I met a Swiss traveler, who mentioned that China had just opened its borders to individual travelers. For the first time in my life time, I could get a Chinese visa in Hong Kong and hop on the train to China... Two weeks later I was entering China from the South, knowing virtually nothing about the country, armed with a Nikon FE with a 50 and a 24 mm lens and lots of film. I was soon to discover that my poor handling of the English language was not going to be a problem, because no one in China could speak English back in 83. Considering that I couldn't speak Chinese, I became astute in mimicking and in body language.

This Chinese adventure lasted a little over 2 months, covering more than 16 800 km, with temperatures ranging from 28C to -22C. Meeting several million Chinese and not seeing a foreigner for weeks at a time, traveling by boat, bus and train, I truly felt like Marco Polo. I felt so lucky to be traveling through China at that time. The photographs I brought back are loaded with sensations of what China was, and a 'feel' of thousands of years history, that even the most totalitarian political regime cannot suppress.