Tag:China
It was always an odd sight. For most, Beijing’s Wonderland was glimpsed from a car, or bus, en route to the Great Wall of China. A double-take was all that most remembered, wondering if they had actually just seen what appeared to be a half-finished Disneyland next to farmland on the outskirts of the city. For those with time to spare after a day to the Great Wall, or just a sense of curiosity, the dilapidated foundations provided a pit-stop […]
I have visited the Great Wall of China nearly 20 times over my 6+ years in China. From hiking up its steep steps in the mountains north of Beijing to photographing the crumbling ruins in the country’s western desert regions, I have seen some beautiful sights. This weekend however I saw perhaps the oddest scene I have witnessed in all my trips to the wall. A ship, run aground, having missed smashing into the wall by a matter of metres. […]
Water pollution has been in the news a lot recently in China. The most notable story that has been circulating of late was the discovery of over 13,000 dead pigs in the Huangpu River outside of Shanghai. It’s another in a long line of stories that highlight the challenges that China faces in managing its waterways as the nation continues its rush to develop. Reading the coverage of this story led me to think about some of the examples of […]
Life in China is never dull. That’s one thing that I have learnt living here for the past 6 1/2 years. From one week to the next, there are stories in the news that will astound, surprise and just plain shock you. Visually, this also applies. The country continues to run at breakneck speed, developing itself and its economy, providing visual contradictions and juxtapositions at every turn. There are also quieter moments however, like those that appear in this post. As […]
On Wednesday of this week, I had the unique experience of chatting online for this first time with middle school students at the Lindblom Math and Science Academy in Chicago. This talk was set-up as part of the News Literacy Project, an organisation that aims to bring journalists into the classroom in the US to help students look critically about news that they are consuming on a day-to-day basis. “The News Literacy Project (NLP) is an innovative national educational program […]
A couple of quick links today to some recent published work. The first is on the excellent China Dialogue website. If you haven’t had a chance to view the CD website before, it really is a very good hub of all environment-related news from China, with contributors from all sectors. It is presented bilingually, therefore reaching a wide readership in both China and abroad. They recently ran my story ‘Between the Glacier and the Dam’, looking at how climate change […]
For the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. To view the full gallery of images. “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us” — Oscar Wilde I’ve never been one for keeping a diary. My parents encouraged me to keep one from a young age, but numerous half-filled notebooks are evidence of my failed attempts. Early on however, I realized that photography and the experience of looking at an image were much more effective in helping me to […]
For the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting “I was forced to move here three years ago. Before, I was a nomad. I’m not happy with what has happened,” explained Dhakpa as we stood on the dusty street corner. (Dhakpa’s name and those of other Tibetans in the story have been changed to protect their identity.) The wind swept through the valley in which we stood, dirt and sand swirling around our feet. Nearby, large piles of refuse started to shuffle […]
CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE TIBETAN PLATEAU – CNN PHOTO BLOG Excerpt… The majority of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in central Asia are shrinking rapidly, according to a comprehensive study published this year in the Nature Climate Change journal. Photographer Sean Gallagher recently visited the region to document how rising temperatures have affected the vulnerable communities and ecosystems on “the roof of the world.” …Read and view more on CNN INDIE FILMMAKERS FEEL HEAVY HAND OF BEIJING – INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE Excerpt… Independent filmmaking is […]
SEAN GALLAGHER, FOR THE PULITZER CENTER “Of course we are not happy with what has happened here. But what can we do?” Dolkar (name changed to protect identity) looked out onto the tranquil water which disappeared between the valleys before him. Small waves lapped near our feet as we stood on the side of a huge reservoir that had risen up the mountain sides just two years before, changing the landscape forever. On one side of where we stood lay […]