China and Europe, side by side

Zhao says art crosses borders and brings better communication among people all over the world. Steve Zhao / for China Daily

Striking similarities emerge in a new photography exhibition

China's Meilidao Art Institution and the Delegation of the European Union to China are co-presenting People to People, an exhibition by the photographer Steve Zhao.

It is the first exhibition that the Delegation of the European Union to China has held for a Chinese photographer, and Zhao's first public exhibition in China.

His works are in two parts: comparing life in China and in Europe, and Chinese scenes from his previous series China Story.

The first part (featured on these two pages) shows people and scenes from everyday life in China and Europe, the pictures being exhibited in pairs, one from each country.

While there are obviously significant differences in geography, culture and social systems in China and Europe, through Zhao's lens striking similarities in personal and social life appear.

For example, one picture is of a Chinese vertical-bamboo flute player dressed as a Taoist, and its counterpart is of a cellist wearing a suit, but both are street artists garbed in white.

"Art crosses borders and brings better communication among people all over the world," Zhao says.

"Zhao is the best portrait photographer I've ever seen," says Michael Schaefer, the German ambassador to China. "I love his works very much."

The second part of the exhibition showcases selected photos from Zhao's China Story project launched in 1997 after he returned from the US.

In 2002, China Story became a worldwide photo exhibition tour presented by China's Ministry of Culture in 38 countries.

Photos exhibited this time feature well-known cultural heritage sites, everyday life, the Silk Road, and the Peking Opera.

zhangzixuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/15/2013 page19)