Photographer captures the daily lives of the people and their ethnic culture, Xing Wen and Mao Weihua report in Tashikurgan, Xinjiang.
Portrait photographs taken by Li Xin offer a close look at the daily lives of Tajik people living in the remote areas of Tashikurgan county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
At first sight, the tall woman with thick long dark hair is conspicuous by the way she appears. Her stylish dress is embellished with colors and ornamental, embroidered patterns widely used in traditional Tajik clothing.
The elaborately designed necklaces, embossed pendants, bracelets and dangling earrings on her, mostly made of silver, shake together to make a light, metallic sound as she walks on the street wearing high-heeled leather boots. The smell of an exotic perfume hangs around her.
She animatedly introduces the details of her ethnic outfit every time onlookers show curiosity about her fashion statement.
"In this way, I can promote Tajik ethnic culture on various occasions," says the woman, Li Xin, better known by her pen name, Li Xinzhao.
However, what Li is doing to promote Tajik culture goes far beyond what we can see from her appearance.
Over the past 12 years, Li, who was born and grew up in Zhengzhou, Henan province, has been residing in Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to record the lifestyles of local people with her camera. The photographer, 41, has traveled across the county to visit remote, underdeveloped villages where she has stayed with locals, trying to build a closer connection with them before holding up her camera to take photos.
Portrait photographs taken by Li Xin offer a close look at the daily lives of Tajik people living in the remote areas of Tashikurgan county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Her portfolios mainly consist of portraits in which models are usually photographed against a background of natural scenery on the Pamir Plateau, wearing traditional clothes in saturated colors. The photos show a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. The images, thoughtfully composed, are able to produce soft and atmospheric appearance akin to classic Western oil paintings.
Li has also used her camera to record the scenes of Tajik people's everyday lives, such as women baking nang bread in the kitchen or doing laundry near a spring; a nomad family cutting grass to prepare fodder for winter; a bride posing in her wedding dress; and boys helping their families with farm work in the harvest season.
"I try to not only capture their ethnic garments, body languages and the tools they use for production on a daily basis, but also rigorously probe into their spiritual life," says Li.
Her photography project was subsidized by the China National Arts Fund from 2015 to 2017. And she won the 13th Golden Statue Award for China Photography, the highest award for photographers in the country, in 2020.
Portrait photographs taken by Li Xin offer a close look at the daily lives of Tajik people living in the remote areas of Tashikurgan county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Her photographs have been collected by many art institutions and collectors overseas.
Last month, she also attended the 11th National Congress of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles in Beijing as a delegate.
"Li's long-term commitment to creating photography works in the vast habitat of the Tajik ethnic group has highlighted the uniqueness of each individual from the group by presenting in details their garments, facial expressions and even inner feelings," comments Liu Xiangchen, a photographer and director who has made documentaries on Xinjiang's folk customs and ethnic cultures.
Li used to work as an editor with a Beijing-based fashion magazine in her 20s. As she gradually formed an interest in the arts, she quit the job and applied to attend a summer school program at the University of the Arts London.
"I spent most of my time browsing through art books, painting albums and photo albums in London's libraries. Then I decided to make an endeavor in photography," she says.
Portrait photographs taken by Li Xin offer a close look at the daily lives of Tajik people living in the remote areas of Tashikurgan county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Later she returned to Beijing and started to learn photography at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. After she completed her study there, she found herself at a loss, without knowing what kind of photography subjects she should explore. During that period of time, she traveled to Turkey and some other foreign countries, as well as many places in China, such as Sichuan province, the Tibet autonomous region and Xinjiang to find inspiration. One of her stops during the journey was Tashikurgan.
"I was walking along the street in the downtown area of the county," Li recalls. "The street was shadowed by the descending sun. And the Tajik people passing by looked at me with their beautiful blue eyes which showed purity and simplicity. That appealed to me, deeply."
Then she decided to stay in the county. She rented a pickup van and hired a local driver to be her assistant. They drove to villages that were linked to the outside world by roads. After her arrival in a village, she would start to connect with locals by communicating via gestures, sharing exquisite accessories with Tajik women, helping them with household chores and taking their photos.
Li Xin poses during one of her trips to the remote villages in Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county, Xinjiang. Tajik ethnic ornaments are dominant features in her outfit. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
She found out that the traditional lifestyles and customs of Tajik people are carried down by generations of tribes.
"Although living in harsh conditions, they've got an inner peace," Li says. "I think they are living an idyllic life, elegantly."
To reach some secluded Tajik villages, she had to cross swift streams and hike hills in the high-elevation region which has a cold climate, pulling a donkey or a camel to help carry the heavy photographic equipment and gifts she brought for locals, such as stationery, sweets and electronic goods.
Sometimes, it took her several days to arrive at a destination, which also required her to camp in the wild.
"Every time I went back from those adventurous trips to the mountainous areas, I felt physically exhausted," she says.
Therefore, she has turned her 75-square-meter apartment in downtown Tashikurgan into a well-ornamented, cozy space in which she can recover from exhaustion.
She plans to study anthropology at a foreign university in the future and make documentaries on Tajik people, turning to another art form to promote the ethnic culture.
Contact the writers through xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn
