He Guanghui, 6, Chen Xiuling, 32, He Yawen, 9, Jinshan Village
on June 8, 2015
He Guanghui, 6, Chen Xiuling, 32, and He Yawen, 9, Jinshan Village.
Li Shutao, 90, Dashi Village
on June 8, 2015
Li Shutao, 90, Dashi Village.
Li has 20 grandchildren, most of them migrant workers. In his youth, Li traveled by rail on train car roofs from county to county, following the harvest season and working on farms. He traveled all the way to the neighboring province of Shaanxi, the farthest he has ever traveled. During the Great Leap Famine (1959-1961), Li urged his sons to leave the village and go and beg for food in Shaanxi. He told them to pretend to be mute in hopes that would make it easier for them to board trains for free.
Jiang Shuanwa, 62, He Mingyi, 64, Jinshan Village
on June 8, 2015
Jiang Shuanwa, 62, and He Mingyi, 64, Jinshan Village.
Wang Yandi, 16, Wang Lei, 5, and Wang Yanxia, 21, Jinshan Village
on June 8, 2015
Wang Yandi, 16, Wang Lei, 5, and Wang Yanxia, 21, Jinshan Village.
Lei’s mother works more than 600 miles away in a supermarket in Xinjiang where she can earn more money. Her sisters, Yandi and Yanxia, care for their little nephew. Both of their parents have passed away. They will soon move to a new house nearby. Outside, cabbage, at right, dries on a window sill in their courtyard.
Jing Dingxia, 72, Zhao Nunu, 68, Qingtai Village
on June 8, 2015
Jing Dingxia, 72, and Zhao Nunu, 68, Qingtai Village.
A new village is being built 1.25 miles away from Qingtai. Jing and Zhao have already put down the 5,000 RMB (U.S.$800) necessary to reserve a plot of land in the new town, but they can’t afford the 200,000 RMB (U.S.$32,000) they would need to build a house there. Behind them, Jing and Zhao have used a poster from the State Grid, explaining basic safety rules for electricity use, to cover the walls. Newspapers, advertising, or propaganda posters are often used for both decoration and insulation.
Mikhail Markovich Gruzenberg
on June 8, 2015
Borodin, née Mikhail Markovich Gruzenberg, (July 9, 1884 – May 29, 1951), seen here in February 1925.
Obama Vows to Boost U.S. Cyber Defenses Amid Signs of China Hacking
on June 8, 2015
U.S. officials said the probe into a massive breach of federal government networks has yielded growing signs of a direct Chinese role.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma Visiting U.S. to Lure Businesses Into China
on June 8, 2015
Ma is looking for revenue beyond China, where the nation’s economy is projected to grow at its slowest pace since 1990.
Writers: Heroes in China?
A Sinica Podcast
on June 8, 2015
If you happen to live in the anglophone world and aren’t closely tied to China by blood or professional ties, chances are that what you believe to be true about this country is heavily influenced by the opinions of perhaps one hundred other people, the reporters who cover China for the world’s leading media outlets and the writers who build a narrative to encompass it beyond the frenetic drumbeat of current affairs.
Jonathan Ansfield
on June 8, 2015
Based in Beijing since the late 1990’s, Jonathan Ansfield reports for The New York Times and is an editor of the Chinese-language edition. Previously, he was a reporter for Newsweek and Reuters. A Milwaukee native, Ansfield studied traditional Chinese literature at Brown University and the University of Chicago. He maintains a sidelight in the local restaurant business with his wife, Amy Li.