6 min read1 Zhang Kechun – A Buddha Head in the Mountain, 2015
About the Yangtze, China’s Yellow River
The Yangtze River1, Asia’s longest river2, is the main subject of The Yellow River3, a series of photographs by Zhang Kechun4. The Yangtze is praised as the cradle of Chinese evolution due to its central function in the civilization of ancient China. Paradoxically, the river is also referred to as China’s sorrow, based on the ferociousness of the river during flooding season.
Kechun’s initial motivation
For many years, the matriarch river of the Chinese nation has been cited in various writings of poets and artists. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Chengdu-based photographer Zhang Kechun took it upon himself to photograph the river. As a young boy, Zhang had read about the river, and he understood its significance as a pertinent symbol of the Chinese nation. On this, he says, “I wanted to photograph the river respectfully,” “It represents the root of the nation.”
Zhang’s two year journey
Having spent two years at the bank of the river, Zhang formed an affinity for it. Not only was he taking his time capturing its essence, but he also acted as a sort of tour guide to tourists that visited the region. The result of his 2-year labor is an expansive portfolio that has the essence of a pilgrimage. He manages to expertly capture the silent moments of the Yellow River and the expansive gray skies that nearly envelop every corner of the landscape. The photographs emit a stillness that is almost wraithlike and transient. His pictures also include the people within the landscape and classical relics he found along his photography journey.
Pollution and ecological destruction of the Yellow River
The photographs also expose the environmental destruction that has come with contemporary living. According to Zhang, the purpose of his artistic pilgrimage was not to reveal the ecological destruction of the Yellow River. Still, he ran into so much pollution that to fail to capture it would have been negating the truth and the essence of the photographs. He says:
I started off wanting to photograph my ideal of the river, but I kept running into pollution. I realized that I couldn’t run away from it and that I didn’t need to run away from it.
Video: Zhang Kechun speaks about his Yangtze river photos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_6_5MFOv00
2 min 55 sec
The severed head of Buddha
A Buddha statue was thrown in the middle of a coal mining plant. Mines and coal surround the area, and there is a temple in the mountain. A coal mine owner built a golden statue of a dozen meters. The Buddha’s head of at least 5 meters, big and heavy, was broken. Because of Buddha’s concept of people, no one wants to smash it and throw it away, so it stands in the coal factory.
3 Zhang Kechun – Buddha in Coal Yard, Ningxia Province, 2011
Conclusion
Although the project has overcast and foreboding undertones, he hopes to spread a message of hope to his Chinese counterparts; that regardless of how much change the world undergoes, some things like nature and the Yellow River are bound to stand the test of time.
Photos
Chongqing Municipality
4 Zhang Kechun – Stone in the Middle of the River, Chongqing, 2013
Gansu province
5 Zhang Kechun- Workers Taking Midday Rest beside a Bridge, Gansu, 20106 Zhang Kechun – Two Men Painting a House in the River, Gansu, 20117 Zhang Kechun – People Doing Morning Excercise under a Dragon Lamp, Gansu, 20118 Zhang Kechun – A man photographing by the river, Gansu province9 Zhang Kechun – Painted people in the river house, Gansu (粉刷河中房子的人，甘肃), 201110 Zhang Kechun – Yellow River in the Middle of the Mountains, Gansu, 201111 Zhang Kechun – People Roasting under a Tree, Gansu, 201012 Zhang Kechun – Kong Fu Practitioners, Gansu, 2010
Henan province
13 Zhang Kechun – People Crossing the Yellow River with a Photo of Mao Zedong, Henan, 201214 Zhang Kechun – Xiaolangdi Dam, Henan, 201115 Zhang Kechun – A Bridge Under Construction, Henan
Inner Mongolia province
16 Zhang Kechun – Rockery under construction, Inner Mongolia (建造中的假山,內蒙古), 201517 Zhang Kechun – White Deer under a Cooling Tower, Inner Mongolia, 201018 Zhang Kechun – Sculptures beside a Country, Inner Mongolia, 2011
Ningxia province
19 Zhang Kechun – Man Pumping Water in Wasteland, Ningxia Province, 201120 Zhang Kechun – Man Doing Morning Exercise Under the Bridge with Mask, Ningxia, 2010
Qinghai province
21 Zhang Kechun – Men Climbing a Billboard, Qinghai, 201122 Zhang Kechun – An Overturned Cement Truck, Qinghai, 2011
Shaanxi province
23 Zhang Kechun – Workers Building Bridge Piers for a High-Speed Railway, Shaanxi, 201124 Zhang Kechun – A Man Standing on an Island in the Middle of the River, Shaanxi, China, 201225 Zhang Kechun – People Fishing by the River, Shaanxi, 2012
Shandong province
26 Zhang Kechun – Fake Hill in the Middle of the Lake, Shandong, 201127 Zhang Kechun – Family Spending the Weekend Under the Bridge, Shandong, 201128 Zhang Kechun – House in the sea, Shandong (海中的房子，山东), 2010
Shanxi province
29 Zhang Kechun – Temple of the Peak, Shanxi ( 山顶的寺庙，山西), 201530 Zhang Kechun – People in a Cable Car, Xiaxi, 201131 Zhang Kechun – People Fishing on the Top of the Pavilion, Shanxi, 2011
Sichuan province
32 Zhang Kechun – People Drink Tea by the River, 2013
Others
33 Zhang Kechun – View of the Yellow River from a window of construction site34 Zhang Kechun – Lake in the Desert, 201435 Zhang Kechun – Dai Mount (黛山), 201836 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River (City)37 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River38 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River39 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River40 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River41 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River42 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River43 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River44 Zhang Kechun – The Yellow River
All images by Zhang Kechun unless otherwise noted.
