Teashop, Chengdu, 1988 [China.org.cn]

Photographer:

Chen Jin was born in Chengdu in 1955. He is a member of China Photographers Association (CPA) and is senior editor of Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House. Chen graduated from Yunnan University as a Chinese literature and linguistics major in 1982. His career as a photographer began in 1980 and his work has appeared in several leading academic magazines. Chen specializes in depicting humanity, but also covers a full range of themes. He has held individual exhibitions in several countries, including Germany and Japan.

 

In Chengdu, a teashop is a social gathering place. People from all social classes and backgrounds meet and blend together, forming conversations as rich as the tea that is served. The urbanization movement has replaced traditional teashops with luxurious ones that look like bars and cafes and are glutted with bourgeois sentiment. As a Chengdu native, Chen Jin grew up in the teashop culture. His pictures not only reveal this unique way of life, but also express his nostalgia for the former teashop atmosphere. (Curator: Liu Shuyong)