first year English major students - "Dahongying University" Cixi campus
This class has about 40 students which is an average number for classes in China (I have taught up top 57 students in one class and as little as 17) this class is mainly made of young women (read girls) with about 5 boys, which is also the average. The boys either choosing to work on the family farm or look for a position in one of the big cities on the south east coast of China - Education at the University level in China is very expensive.
On the blackboard in the background the students have written Chinese quotes suggesting that "the students should not forget their dreams...." great advice of course, but these students have like most students of their age in China, very little knowledge of the outside world or any expectations beyond returning to their village or 'hometown' and doing exactly what their parents insist, settling down and having families of their own.
photo: mark hobbs
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
students
when they are together
two young boys at the entrance to a small hutong (traditional Chinese alley dwelling) - early evening - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Happy "Fathers Day" to all of you 'Father's and to me :)
photo: mark hobbs
when the door is open
a woman sits outside her home, making a hat - late afternoon - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
photo: mark hobbs
Guozhi Geming
standing tall - Guozhi Geming the "Party Boss" (Chinese Communist Party) of the Gaoqiao market - late afternoon - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
This stern looking man, is both the "Party Boss" and manager of the Gaoqiao market, his word is final - no discussion. A translation of his name is "may the state govern" (Guozhi) and "revolution" (Geming) I love the contradiction.
photo: mark hobbs
when he reads
leaving a residential area, a young man reads a txt on his cellphone - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
In China it seems that everyone has a cellphone (perhaps, this is the case across the globe?) Actually it is over half a billion people who own and use a cellular phone in China. Amazing statistics when you consider that the mobile phone was first introduced in 1995. Many of the phones are of course Shanzhai (which can translate as "A Chinese imitation and pirated brand and or good, particularly electronics")
photo: mark hobbs
feel that funky groove
i love the irony here - a 'disco' tshirt hangs in a "nong tang" (alley) Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
try explaining in Chinese what this 'Funky thing' is....
photo: mark hobbs
when the road turns
intersection of two alley's "nong tang's" - early evening - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
photo: mark hobbs
Friday, June 25, 2010
dust sweeper
the endless job of sweeping the dust - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
Since first coming to China in early 2004, I have seen countless numbers of these "road sweepers", who seemingly have a thankless, endless task. In some cities such as Taiyuan, Shanxi province, the sweepers work in groups (both men and women). Taiyuan has the added 'problem' of dust both local from coal production and dust blown into the city from the ever expanding Gobi dessert. In a relatively modern/developed city such as Ningbo the road sweepers work from very early in the morning to just before sunset. I have seen (and photographed) mechanized truck road sweepers, but these are rare.
photo: mhobbs
hutong wall with detail
i love the way this wall is constructed - the laying of the narrow stones one upon the other, stones or bricks gathered from various sources including of course older destroyed buildings, now recycled. (the proof of this is in the detail) The wall is constructed without any mortar - and forms the exterior wall on four sides of a hutong (tradition Chinese alley dwelling) Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China - late afternoon
photo: mhobbs
turn - nong tang # 37
after work a man walks home - "nong tang" (alley) Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China - late afternoon
photo: mhobbs
still
a bed sheet hangs between two small hutong (traditional Chinese alley dwellings) in a 'courtyard' small village, Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
photo: mhobbs
she turned
a factory worker still wearing her uniform heads home at the end of the work day - early evening - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
I have been exploring the countless alleys and small streets around Gaoqiao since I first moved to Ningbo twelve months ago. The seemingly endless variation and hidden spaces never cease to amaze me, from a purely artistic point of view, the textures and "play of light" in these spaces has given me a wonderful opportunity that I will always remember.
photo: mhobbs
the time is always 6am
student dormitories "Dahongying University" - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
these are the first year student dorms' the girls dorms opposite my apartment building - in all the schools (read Universities) that I have taught at in my five + years in China, all the dorm buildings are the same (not just similar, but exactly the same) which isn't unusual for China. They are six level (seven levels and a building must have an elevator) concrete buildings with a balcony for each dorm room (which is used to hang washing) the buildings are tiled on the exterior walls and have neither heating nor cooling, no hot water and no cooking facilities
photo: mhobbs
Monday, June 21, 2010
shallow - nong tang # 35
after a day of showers and some heavy rain the "nong tang" (alley) is dark and 'heavy' with water - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
photo: mhobbs
she has some red
a woman strolls along a "nong tang" (alley) - protecting herself from the rain with a bright red umbrella - Gaoqiao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
photo: mhobbs
