By time machine to China, a photo from Ningxia, Central

Photographer's Note

I do not claim that this is a technically good photo, but the low quality is due to it being scanned from a slide taken from a moving train almost 33 years ago. More important to me than technical perfection is the view of a Chinese way of life which is now rapidly disappearing.

This is somewhere in Ningxia, an autonomous region created for the Hui people, one of China's many ethnic minorities. I was going by train through northern China from Inner Mongolia to Gansu province (a journey of about 23 hours; no super fast bullet train in 1986), when I noticed we were passing by a remarkably old-fashioned village, where not much seemed to have changed since the 19th century. I quickly managed to get my camera out of its bag, just in time to take this photo. I would imagine that the window was already open because of the heat.

I checked my diary to see if I had mentioned taking this photo. I hadn't, but it was obviously a very interesting journey. I noted that as we were going along the Yellow River (Huang He) there was an incredibly sharp division between desert and fertile green fields, which reminded me of Egypt along the Nile. I also saw a small part of the Great Wall quite close to the railway, very far from the noisy crowds and commercialism surrounding the wall in the Beijing area. It wasn't actually very great at all, lying partly in ruins.

This was scanned from a Kodachrome slide. Here is a larger version.

ikeharel, Fis2, pajaran, papagolf21, pierrefonds, jhm, ChrisJ, adramad, deffra, PiotrF, macjake, COSTANTINO, bukitgolfb301, PaulVDV, mcmtanyel, gervaso, cornejo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (191219) 2019-06-26 0:32

Ciao Gert, fascinating old photo frim China, great testimoniance, good quality for a scan, splendid light and wonderful colors very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

ifege (20921) 2019-06-26 0:45

Hi Gert
Another goodone from your time machine. A fascinating photo ofboth daily life and the walled(?) Village. Keep them coming.
Cheers
Ian

jean113 (16085) 2019-06-26 0:53

Hello Gert, what a great shot for the archive; wouldn’t it be good to return to see if and how much it has changed?
You apologise for the quality, no need, it is a fine picture that shows us much.
You managed to capture some people too, I wonder if they were visitors or local people.
Taken from the train, I am very impressed.
Interesting notes, thank you.
Kind regards, Jean.

Fis2 (142643) 2019-06-26 0:55

Witaj Gert my neighbor today :)
Another interesting photo from your rich archive.
A very curious place, buildings make impression.
I like framing and "retro" colors.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

Nicou (188446) 2019-06-26 1:24

Hello

alors cette image a 33 ans superbe quelle archives et quelle vue de ce temple avec ce murs ce ciel bleu clair et tout cette paille au pied des murs en jaune quel ensemble fantastique
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

pajaran (92142) 2019-06-26 1:45

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazano, lepa fotografija i secanje.
Lepa arhitektura.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good day.
Nice view, interesting and good text ...
Beautifully shown, beautiful photos and memories.
Nice architecture.
I wish you a beautiful and successful day, all the best.

Royaldevon (64322) 2019-06-26 1:47

Hello Gert,

For a photograph, taken from a moving train, and then scanned, this really is an amazingly clear, photograph, showing a place seemingly forgotten in time.
I have studied the scene with pleasure, noting how village is surrounded by what looks like a substantial wall.
I found the dumping of the 'crop' very curious. It is inside the wall, outside the wall and partially blocking the gateway. It looks as if the figures are packing it into sacks and using barrows moving it along the road. This could be their economy.
Besides being interesting in their own right, the figures have certainly helped to scale the whole scene.
Oh, and just look at the traditional curved roof! No wonder you hastened to grab your camera!

Thanks for sharing this,
Bev 😊

papagolf21 (145094) 2019-06-26 2:27

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Vos malles emplies de trésors photographiques sont un atout considérable pour le site.
Pouvoir faire la différence entre hier et aujourd'hui (parfois presque ou sans changement).
Ici, j'apprécie beaucoup cette réalisation reflétant une époque où le temps semble avoir marqué un arrêt sur l'histoire !
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

photographer_sg (6059) 2019-06-26 3:32

Hello Gert
It is quite amazing that this was taken from a moving train. It is quite sharp (in the large version too) and the framing is perfect. We get a glimpse of daily life and also a fine view of the traditional houses and architecture. Your note is fascinating and makes very good reading.
Best regards
Satya

pierrefonds (93555) 2019-06-26 4:34

Hi Gert,

The hills and the trees are framing well the town. The point of view is showing the details of the houses. The scanned Kodachrome slide is giving a good result. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (191357) 2019-06-26 6:03

Hello Gert,

Almost no people to see, only in foreground.
But a splendid panorma view about the part of village.
Colours and sharpness are superb.
An excellent presentation nice to look at.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

ChrisJ (152396) 2019-06-26 6:14

Hi Gert

The yellow bales of hay give a marvelous warm cold colour contrast with the blue sky. A superb scan and excellent colour and saturation. A good elevated pov and the people add scale. Tfs!

carlo62 (81029) 2019-06-26 8:27

Ciao Gert
quanti ricordi in una sola foto, immagini che riaffiorano dal passato, un passato che non vedremo più se non attraverso le tue foto e quelle di pochi altri.
Saluti
Carlo

lousat (121003) 2019-06-26 8:35

H Gert,the quality is excellent for me,it's sur that the train were very slow...ehehe....a beautiful capture of this chinese village,old buildings and the result of the harvest on the street,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

jmdias (91937) 2019-06-26 9:53

gert

probably there is a bullet train in this area. the slow train permitted you to take this marvelous image. nice details of the straw in mounts and the local architecture. excellent view.I only took a slow train in china, and it took me hours. haha.

take care

jorge

adramad (62672) 2019-06-26 10:00

Hello Gert.
Very interesting explanatory note of this remote region 33 years ago, the buildings transport us to the authentic and old China, of which I believe there is very little now, an image with much charm.
The management of color and light, are magnificent, highlighting the beauty and sharpness of the image.
Very well done. I like it
Enjoy a good day
Very best regards.
Luis.

deffra (565) 2019-06-26 10:44

Très intéressante note.Impressionant de voir une photo
autant vieille.

TFS

Deffra

Tue (71882) 2019-06-26 11:22

Hej Gert,
Et udmærket, historisk billede fra det gamle Kina. Kompositionen er meget god og farverne og især de gule dele er attraktive. Den traditionelle arktitektur ser meget godt ud i det klare lys. Jeg ville ønske mine scannede billeder og billederne jeg tog fra et kørende tog var så gode!
Lars

mesutilgim (115430) 2019-06-26 12:00

Hello Gert,
Another topclass "oldie" from your archive.
Photographycally perfect and many interesting/usefull notes.
Again -as I'd repeated it severaş times- I do not think that it has changed too much in this 30 and more years.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Miguel82 (35864) 2019-06-26 12:24

Hello Gert, the remoted Ningxia autonomous region is very rarely highlighted on Te. It is close to Inner Mongolia in north China. The farmers daily life is shown through the picture. The hay, the local architecture, the pagoda style buildings are eye-catching. Excellent document.

PiotrF (42670) 2019-06-26 13:35

Hello Gert
Good quality since it's a photo from a moving train.
Thank you for informative note. I like very good POV and wonderful colours.
Nice presentation
Regards
Piotr

emka (139176) 2019-06-26 23:18

Hello Gert, Very good quality taken into account that it was taken from the train, even if it was not going very fast. Probably now it would be difficult to find such old villages. When I went by the trains I saw mainly hideous big blocks. Gansu is the province that I would like to see.

Kind regards MAlgo

BennyV (30390) 2019-06-26 23:46

Wow, Gert, as a keen China traveller, this is yummy for me! You've been to Ningxia! We spent some time there on our last China trip and absolutely loved it. A fascinating region and very, very much off track.

I recognize the pattern of the mountains in the background, but not the amazing village in front of it.

Terrific! What a treat!

Benny

GyurMaster (16638) 2019-06-27 4:16

Dear Gert,

This one is a well-made postcard, without any prejudice in the word 'postcard'. A nice glimpse from the past, offering a lot of details to be observed.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

rychem (68021) 2019-06-27 8:31

A very nice photo from your archive, a very good quality of the photo taken with an analog camera and from the moving train, interesting architecture and nice hills behind the village buildings
regards Ryszard

macjake (92629) 2019-06-27 12:41

Hi Gert
take away the tower, and (in my opinion anyways) there is basically no way of knowing this was taken from China, it could be anywhere. that tower gives it away :) Question for you, what is all that yellow stuff..is it hay? used in construction with mud perhaps???? Now that I know this was taken from a moving train, its actually VERY sharp and well defined, i'd be very happy with these results. I wonder how it looks today. good one
cheers
Craig

ikeharel (98802) 2019-06-27 22:06

Hello Gert,
Seeing your 30 years(or more) old photos is always a time-machine adventure. I like this stuff, alwayts interesting.
An excellent take while theb train was moving, construction was under way at that time, most probably the area not the same anymore.
The pagoda building is an attractive eyes-catching object.
Best regards.
Ike

COSTANTINO (93422) 2019-06-28 9:05

Hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy weekend
a photo returning us back
so many years ago!!!
you did the best again with a scanned
photo taken from a moving train
almost 33 years ago!!!
I like your description about this very
interesting journey along the Yellow
rIVER!!!
Wellodine
regards
Costantino

bukitgolfb301 (53382) 2019-06-29 1:16

Hi dear Gert

Ya again we can see archive image via your time-machine. A little sepia colro touch adds some nostalgic image. Whenever I see your archive shot like these, I imagine how differnet from now. Specially in China all have changed I guess.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

PaulVDV (49024) 2019-06-30 0:20

Hello Gert,
A picture with a very interesting foreground. If this place would have been a stopover for you, I'm quite sure you would have taken pictures of the people we see on the foreground and of their activities.
I'm not sure if we're supposed to see that part of the Great Wall on this photo.
Despite you took the picture from a moving train, the composition is very good.
Best regards, Paul

mcmtanyel (54551) 2019-07-01 22:08

Hello Gert,
I like those traditional buildings. Their color matches that of the hills. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

gervaso (27393) 2019-07-06 8:47

Hello, Gert!

The quality is not bad for such an old photo and taken from the train, and the view is very interesting, showing a remote place with beautiful architecture! Very nice memories you show us from this trip of yours! Excellent job!

kasianowak (14001) 2019-07-21 7:14

I've said it before but I must say it again: many times, when you mention low quality of your photographs, I'm not sure what you mean, Mr Gert Perfectionist... ;-) This one looks pretty good to me. It's sharp, well composed, it shows traditional buildings and the landscape beyond, the lights and colours are lovely.
Isn't it ironic that we are observing an unprecedented destruction of the traditional way of life in China that even the Cultural Revolution (horrible as it was) didn't manage to inflict?
At least the Wall is maintained these days.

Ilonka1974 (5445) 2019-07-25 12:49

Hi Gert,
Lovely composition and very good presentation .
Clarity, colours sharpness are perfect.
Well done
Best regards
Janusz

cornejo (61182) 2019-08-21 2:46

Hi Gert, good photography of this interesting reality of ancient China, very well captured in this interesting image, good sharpness, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing.

Good afternoon and happy rest of the week.
Warm regards from southern Spain.
Angel.