Yao Gouwa, 72, Liu Yinxiang, 72, Baituo Village
on June 17, 2015
Yao Gouwa, 72, and Liu Yinxiang, 72, Baituo Village.
Liu suffers from pain caused by hypertension, a common affliction among the elderly in the region.
Niu Wenxuan, 65, Changjiahe Village
on June 17, 2015
Niu Wenxuan, 65, Changjiahe Village.
Niu, a farmer, has a passion for calligraphy, and he occasionally works on restoring old scrolls. The scrolls hanging above his kang date back to the Qing Dynasty.
Niu Binggui, 32, Niu Haoran, 3, Anyuan Village
on June 17, 2015
Niu Binggui, 32, and Niu Haoran, 3, Anyuan Village.
Niu Binggui is a cook in charge of catering for a construction company in neighboring Ningxia province. For 10 years, he has been working as a cook in restaurants and dreams of opening his own place, but so far he lacks the funds to do so. He was home with his family for Chinese New Year and won’t see them again for several months.
Yang Fanxiu, 83, Liu Lucheng, 84, Anyuan Village
on June 17, 2015
Yang Fanxiu, 83, Liu Lucheng, 84, Anyuan Village.
Yang Fanxiu spends her days making straw hats. Their only son died in 2008.
Peng Xusheng, 76, Peng Jinjin, 70, Peng Xiyuan, one month old, Anjiawan Village
on June 17, 2015
Peng Xusheng, 76, Peng Jinjin, 70, and Peng Xiyuan, one month old, Anjiawan Village.
Peng Jinjin is all smiles with his newborn granddaughter, Xiyuan, lying on the kang by an open window. One of his two sons committed suicide after his wife left him, leaving Peng in charge of another granddaughter. To Peng’s left is his older brother, who never married.
An Shoujia, 73, Baijiawan Village
on June 17, 2015
An Shoujia, 73, Baijiawan Village.
An is a strong believer in Buddha and says he is helping her with her ailments, mainly her back pain. Her husband was working in the fields when this picture was taken.
Chen Guiqin, 72, Liu Yanggao, 73, Baituo Village
on June 17, 2015
Chen Guiqin, 72, and Liu Yanggao, 73, Baituo Village.
Chen and Liu, husband and wife, are cared for by one of their two daughters who recently gave birth to a daughter of her own. They say she is unhappy to have to stay in the village and would rather be in Shanghai, where her husband is a migrant worker. At right is the couple’s altar for their ancestors and calligraphy with a quote from former Communist Party Secretary Jiang Zemin.
Zheng Julian, 65, Huanghui New Village
on June 17, 2015
Zheng Julian, 65, Huanghui New Village.
Zhang Guizi, 71, Huangmen Village
on June 17, 2015
Zhang Guizi, 71, Huangmen Village.
Before the revolution, Zhang’s family lived in a cave with no land of their own. He keeps a huge poster of Mao Zedong, whom he credits for getting his family out of poverty. But he also laments the destruction of the local Taoist temple during the Cultural Revolution. The temple was recently renovated through financial contributions from all the villagers. Zhang says it’s nowhere near as beautiful as it was before, but he is still happy to see it alive again. At right, next to the kang is Zhang’s coal-burning stove.
Wang Huanguo, 77, Huangmen Village
on June 17, 2015
Wang Huanguo, 77, Huangmen Village.
Wang believes that her feet were first bandaged starting around the time she was four years old. In those days, all girls would get their feet bound. The practice died out throughout the first half of the 20th century, in part due to anti foot-binding campaigns, and the practice had almost completely stopped by the time Mao took power. “But my grandmother’s feet were even smaller!” she says. Today, Wang uses a cane when she walks.
