by+Laurent+Hou

I have been living in Beijing for almost five years， and my passion for photography was greatly stimulated by this city. Since I found it a fascinating place， I spontaneously started photographing its streets and the people. Beijing has a vibrant street life， very different from what I experienced in France before. France has lots of cafes and bars where people meet， but these are semi-public spaces. In Beijing （I think this applies to China in general）， some people seem to simply live on the streets all day long： exercising in public parks， eating on the street， spending hours sitting on an old sofa in front of their home……

When I look at pictures of Beijing by other photographers， I find that most fall into two categories： scenes of the hutongs and the people living there— trying to show them in an authentic and most traditional way； pictures of high-rise buildings or of the many highways （especially at night）. Both of these approaches make sense and can produce nice pictures.

Rather than showing the traditional or modern elements of Beijing， my pleasure is to combine both. Modernity and tradition， richness and poverty not only confront each other， they also combine in creative and funny ways. Beijing is also a global city， where different cultural influences come together. All these elements form a kind of visual poetry that Beijing offers to whoever pays a bit of attention. It feels as if the city itself is inventing these combinations. And as a photographer I strive to capture the moments when things come together in a funny and/or thoughtprovoking way.

One can be attacked by a giant hot dog while walking in the hutongs. Grandpas pass by graffiti. Western or Korean culture penetrates the city and English inscriptions have become rather common， even on the clothes of people who dont speak the language at all. I really enjoy the humor of such juxtapositions. They are good for a laugh， but they also capture a particular facet of the citys development， which， I think， will keep evolving， as the billboards of real estate projects suggest. As far as I am concerned， I hope to keep on exploring the city and finding new， interesting situations and people. Beijing is a gigantic city and there are so many places I have yet to discover， especially beyond the third ring road.