China’s elderly find life and joy in exercise

By Grace Liang and Lucy Hornby

BEIJING - Gao Mingyuan has found joy at age 66.

Joy, in his case, consists of bending himself double and hooking his legs around a pole that runs behind his shoulders, in a Chinese meditative martial arts tradition.

Gao is one of many Chinese seniors, freed from the rigors of work and raising children, who are turning to martial arts such as tai chi, bopping to trendy beats or singing patriotic songs as they seek health and friends in parks across the country.

“We forget all our troubles when we practice,” he said as he contorted himself at the Temple of Heaven, where seniors exercise beneath the gnarled trees at dawn.

China has over 140 million people over the age of 60. Many lost out on an education, thanks to the Cultural Revolution, and have retired early as state-owned factories went bust or to help care for grandchildren.

About 54 million engage in some sort of physical activity to enliven their golden years.

“Sportswear companies would well take heed of that figure, given how obsessed they are with the youth market,” said Kunal Sinha, who studies the aging demographic for Ogilvy & Mather in Shanghai.

The elderly Chinese who swarm to the Temple of Heaven are a treasure-trove of traditional folk arts, martial arts and Chinese opera, sung in cracked voices that are still in tune.

Crowds of other seniors bop to a trendy beat, try their hand at Indian dance, waltz or join a chorus of patriotic Communist songs rarely heard any more.

“In India, seniors pass on traditions and social norms. In China, they’re an untapped resource, because so many young people want to turn toward what’s modern,” said Sinha.

“On the other hand, because China is so in flux, we see a lot of old people picking up customs from young people. For instance, the phenomenon of the hip-hop granny — you don’t see that in India.”

For 63-year old Wang Yongzhen, a grandmother who swing-dances in large gold-rimmed sunglasses and a traditional purple velvet cheong-sam, retirement is a time to indulge talents she never had time for when she was young.

“I liked singing and dancing when I was young but never had a chance, because work was busy and the kids were little. Now when I dance at the park, my heart opens up.”

(Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Hundreds of images rushed into our picture editing system within 2 hours of the start of business on July 22, 2009 and kept flashing across our monitors all day long. The screens all seemed to be filled with nearly black rectangles: a technical problem? No. What was happening? Simple! All the pictures were of a total solar eclipse. Most of the images were just black.

A combination picture shows the sequence of a total solar eclipse as observed in Chongqing municipality July 22, 2009. The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow path of Asia, where it was expected to darken the skies for millions of people for more than six minutes in some places. REUTERS/Stringer

Ahead of the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, staff photographers and dozens of stringers were positioned along the route of the blackout across central and eastern China. The first picture showing people holding welding masks to view the sun jumped onto our system around 8:30am, even before the eclipse started, but it was a bright picture and striking image. Then, as the moon gradually passed between the earth and sun blocking more and more light, the image tones got darker and darker. At 9:40am local time, the Yangtze Valley had gone dark and my screen showed this:

This is how I experienced the solar eclipse in front of my computer screen at the Beijing Pictures Desk… only a few minutes after the live show on TV, but in the same sequence. Bright, dark, black, a glimmer and oh…bright again…
 
What was also great to see was the way so many photographers interpreted the same scene in so many different and often amusing ways, despite the flood of plain pictures of the sun.

As local media said, next time we - or rather our descendants - witness such a phenomenon, a six-minute-long total eclipse in China, will be 500 years from now. The Chinese nation went crazy over it. Specialised solar viewing glasses and filters soon sold out, but this did not deter others from trying to watch it safely nor affect the enthusiasm of local residents. Ingenious thinking led to the use of other improvised tools to try and observe the eclipse without damaging eyes…

A man uses a piece of smoked glass to observe a solar eclipse in Baokang, Hubei province July 22, 2009. A total solar eclipse began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow path of Asia, where it was expected to darken the skies for millions of people for more than six minutes in some places. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA)

A boy uses a piece of smoked glass to observe a solar eclipse in Tianjin municipality July 22, 2009. A total solar eclipse began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow path of Asia, where it was expected to darken the skies for millions of people for more than six minutes in some places. REUTERS/Vincent Du (CHINA)

Residents use welding masks to watch the solar eclipse in Chongqing municipality July 22, 2009. A total solar eclipse began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow path of Asia, where it was expected to darken the skies for millions of people for more than six minutes in some places. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA)  

A resident uses a pair of self-made eye protection glasses to observe a partial eclipse in Shenzhen, Guangdong province July 22, 2009. A total solar eclipse began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow path of Asia, where it was expected to darken the skies for millions of people for more than six minutes in some places. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA)

It was a busy morning at the Beijing Pix Desk editing hundreds of images, but now its over I am little sad that the next time this happens, 500 years from now, I will be resting, hopefully peacefully…

Recently, I went to the Chinese border-town of Dandong on the Yalu River to see what I could photograph to match stories about reports that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was sick. Dandong is one of the closest towns on the border to the secretive country, and was the obvious choice due mainly to the chances of a journalist entering the highly restricted and reclusive country at such short notice being practically impossible. They don’t accept journalists at the best of times, let alone when their ‘dear leader’, as he is officially known, is not well. Kim has led communist North Korea for 14 years and if he was dead, the potentially nuclear-capable country could quickly become a scary and somewhat horrifying scenario.My hope for the assignment was that maybe I could get pictures of North Korean soldiers on border patrols, or perhaps even people working in the fields - something that showed life on the ‘other side’.

A local contact told us of boats for hire about one hours drive north of Dandong. I thought ok, it would be something like a small fishing village where the locals occasionally subsidise their incomes by taking people for rides to see the secretive side of the river, but when we arrived we found a thriving, well organised tourism industry. There was a fleet of six large boats that took 20 people at a time, or a fleet of speedboats that took five at a time. You could go for 20 minutes or for over an hour, cruising along the Chinese side of the river photographing or filming North Koreans washing their clothes or themselves, riding bicycles, tending their crops, or just fishing as they tried to get any extra food to supplement what measly portions they were obviously receiving.

Myself, text journalist Chris Buckley and Reuters cameraman Johnnie boarded a boat and headed towards the small town of Qing Cheng which was once connected to China via a bridge that protrudes from both sides of the river but had it’s middle portion blown-up 60 years ago - a symbolic reminder that this country is separated from the rest of the world.

The first amazing sight was a boat full of North Korean soldiers floating down the river. I thought for sure they would follow us, but most of them just waved and smiled. Mind you, thankfully, there was another boat between us and them, and they didn’t really see us I am pretty sure.

The next thing that surprised me was the sight of maybe a hundred people either walking, riding bikes or on animal-drawn carts travelling along a road that hugged the banks of the river. This was where I managed to get a picture of a military officer riding a motorbike with who I presume was his wife and young child aboard. A rare sight indeed I am sure.

We then came across a building that extended out into the river, and where three men huddled inside. We could only just see them through a hole in a wall, and it certainly personified the sad state these people were in.

The finale of our trip produced probably my favourite image I have taken involving North Korea. I only just noticed her behind the tree - a female North Korean soldier on patrol along the border fence was desperately trying to stay out of sight. And what made the picture was the way in which she failed - she just couldn’t resist taking a peek at us.

After we got back to the hotel and I had sent my pictures, I couldn’t help but think how distressing the whole scene was. A whole tourism industry built on people being treated like zoo animals. There would be hundreds of tourists everyday riding in these boats, which even had signs aboard them saying you weren’t allowed to give food to anybody, especially if they asked for it. No wonder the children threw rocks at them.

I just hope that my pictures make people aware and feel sympathetic to the North Korean people’s situation, and ask that when perhaps one day you visit the lovely city of Dandong, you will just be satisfied with looking at North Korea from the Chinese side of the river.

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds was my nickname yesterday.

My Olympic opening ceremony endurance test began with an 8am call to be on the roof of the Bird’s Nest stadium for a meeting of photographers.

I began my first of three climbs through the maze of steep, narrow catwalks with IOC pool photographers from AP, Getty, AFP and Xinhua. On either side of the path were sheets of glass through which the colored lights of the stadium are projected.

We were told to wear fireproof suits, helmets and climbing harnesses over our clothes.  The Chinese fireworks technicians on the roof had sensibly chosen to wear t-shirts and shorts.

It was 90-something degrees Fahrenheit and humid on the ground, but felt a lot hotter on the roof. — especially after lugging 3 camera bodies, 5 lenses, a bag of magic arms and 50 meters of remote cable up there.

The door to the catacombs of the roof was barred by Chinese police who confiscated any water, food, cigarettes and cell phones. 

The show was filled with interludes of fireworks, and we were told to crouch on the floor every time another burst came. So I quickly mounted a wide angle Canon 5D with 15mm lens on the edge of the stadium, which I could fire remotely every time we had to duck.

I set the camera on aperture priority at f8, 200 ISO.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

We were told we would have to crouch in a sunken part of the roof when the main fireworks and cauldron-lighting occurred, sometime after 10.30 pm.

So we mounted a couple of pool remote cameras to be triggered with zip cord to shoot the Olympic flame being lit. The Chinese police said it would be fine to clamp onto the pole holding their video security camera, so I trained a 70-200 in the direction of the torch, and Ezra Shaw from Getty put a wide angle very near the flame.

“Top secret, no-one will know until the last minute,” was the response from everyone when we tried to imagine how the flame would be lit, so we could frame it correctly.

Julie Jacobson from AP suggested we put our Canon Mark IIIs on monopods while we were stuck in our ditch, so we could hoist the pole and shoot using the camera’s Live View.

As we huddled and waited for the grand finale, a policeman came over gesturing and shouting in Chinese for us to go down the stairwell and shut the trap door over our heads.

One of the fireworks technicians translated and told us the rail we were sitting next to had been electrified to carry a trolley that would transport the athlete carrying the Olympic torch around the inside rim of the stadium.

 REUTERS/Shaun Best

We huddled on a 6×6 ft platform above the stairs. Below us were sheets of glass and below that sat the world leaders watching the extravaganza, known as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

A Chinese policeman who looked barely 20-years-old stood on the stairs. We had a narrow slit through which we could watch the rest of the ceremony. The cop grabbed my arm as the parade of athletes progressed.

“China’s coming!  China’s coming!” he said as we heard a huge roar from the crowd of more than 90,000.  I could barely make out any of the athletes but saw Yao Ming, who is probably visible from space.

The torch bearer glided around the top of the stadium, passing inches from the narrow gap we were looking out of.  He ignited the flame with a long fuse, outside the frame of my vertical remote which was trained on the massive cauldron. 

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

The final firework explosions reverberated around us in our metal cage. 

I had met the head pyrotechnics engineer when I first came on the roof.  When he found out I was from London, he said he really wanted the contract for London 2012 and asked me to put a good word in for him. He didn’t seem convinced when I told him I didn’t have that kind of clout. I hope he gets the gig.

REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

Beijing, August 9 2008
 

Sport is a dominant theme at the moment, obviously, because of the impending start of the Olympic Games in China. 

 Nevertheless I offer no apologies for selecting this picture by Darren Staples of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Juventus’ Mauro Camoranesi clashing in mid-air during their pre-season friendly soccer match at Old Trafford in Manchester on August 6. As I looked through the file of Reuters pictures it jumped out at me, and has everything a good soccer picture should have. Of course it’s sharp, tightly composed, is shot at the height of the action and, because the players appear to be so far off the ground, it conveys a sense of drama. Also, a very simple point, but one that is often missed - the ball is in the picture!

A short while back I collated a few choice quotations and sayings on photography and the picture-taking process: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’.

I think various gems were omitted first-time round, so here are a few more:

“There are few professions where even when you are right at the top and a household name, you might still be standing on a draughty street corner with your feet getting wet and cold, waiting for something to happen.” (Philip Jones Griffiths)

Above - A British Airways aircraft taxis past BA tail-fins at Heathrow Airport, west London. Photograph by Toby Melville

“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.” (Ted Grant)

“I always believed the press would kill her in the end. But not even I could believe they would take such a direct hand in her death as seems to be the case…Every proprietor and editor that has paid for intrusive and exploitative photographs of her…has blood on their hands today.” (Earl Spencer on his sister Diana, Princess of Wales)

“A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.” (Ansel Adams)

Above - A ballet dancer performs during a dress rehearsal for a new production of Swan Lake by The National Ballet of China at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. Photograph by Dylan Martinez

“I never shed a tear while taking pictures or I couldn’t have seen through the viewfinder to focus the lens. I guess if auto-focus was around then it could have been different.” (Philip Jones Griffiths)

“The camera cannot lie, but it can be an accessory to untruth.” (Harold Evans)

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” (Lewis Hine)

“The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.” (Henri Cartier Bresson)

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” (Ansel Adams)

Above - A man watches smoke from the Telegraph Fire near Yosemite National Park in El Portal, California. Photograph by Robert Galbraith

“The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.” (Henri Cartier-Bresson)

“I am sometimes accused by my peers of printing my pictures too dark. All I can say is that it goes with the mood of melancholy that is induced by witnessing at close quarters such intractable situations of conflict and joylessness.” (Don McCullin)

Above - A policeman stands guard as Shi’ite pilgrims march towards Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in preparation for his death anniversary during a sandstorm in Baghdad. Photograph by Ceerwan Aziz

“The first ten thousand shots are the worst.” (Helmut Newton)

“What do you think has been your contribution to today’s photography ? ‘Thanks to my effort in the last 40 years, there has been more paper and film wasted.’ ” (Man Ray)

“The photograph is married to the eye, Grafts on its bride one sided skins of truth.” ( Dylan Thomas)

“A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.” (Mark Twain)

Above - A man sleeps during the final of the Gold Cup British Open Polo Championship match between Ellerston and Loro Piana at Cowdray Park near Midhurst, southern England. Photograph by Luke MacGregor

“I only use a camera like I use a toothbrush. It does the job.” (Don McCullin)

Above - A worker is silhouetted as he cleans the floor outside the National Aquatics Centre also known as the Water Cube in Beijing July 29, 2008. It will host the swimming, diving and synchronized Swimming competitions during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Photograph by Claro Cortes IV

“A technically perfect photograph can be the world’s most boring picture.” (Andreas Feininger)

With the Olympics now only a month away the search for scene-setting images to tempt the visual palate has begun in earnest. From the Beijing file Henry Lee gives us this to kick start the week - Wei Shengchu, 58, a supporter of traditional Chinese medicine, poses for photos in front of Beijing Railway Station with his head covered with acupuncture needles depicting 205 national flags and an Olympic torch, 7, 2008. Local media reported that Wei wanted to express his good wishes for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games as well as to promote traditional Chinese medicine. 

And it is all his own work, all 205 and something more substantial representing the Olympic flame, painstakingly inserted into his head to the obvious entertainment of passersby. 

Even in this low resolution the Stars and Stripes, the Swiss, French, Canadian, Brazilian and a host of other national flags, are fairly easily spotted but not the Union Jack. 

Maybe he just forgot it, or perhaps it occupies a place in the shade where the sun has finally set on the British Empire.

 Six months ago, after eight years working in Spain I began a new stage in my life as a photographer based in Hong Kong. Here are some of my first impressions. 

HK is a cosmopolitan and very modern place with enormous malls full of posh boutiques like Prada, Armani and Chanel; deluxe cars like Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce and Jaguar riding the roads; free WIFI access in the streets… all in stark contrast to the homeless people with cardboard boxes begging for dollars. 

For the lucky ones life in this incredible city is easy. It is safe, has amazing buildings, beaches, exciting nightlife, nice restaurants and very low taxes.

As a former British colony one can communicate in English, something not generally possible elsewhere in China.   

Organizers of events here love credentials - and business cards. Here, if you don’t have a business card, you don’t exist. With a business card it’s possible to gain access to news conference and many other events.   

It is varied work. I can be seated comfortably on a soccer field with the action unfolding before me, or shooting sailing action from an inflatable boat, or pootling round the track on a retro Vespa during a Moto GP championship and then the next minute up to my my waist in flood water or running 17 storeys upstairs to shoot the Olympic Torch Relay from the bathroom of a hotel…  

Through all this there has been an almost continual process of fighting to obtain visas so that I can cover breaking news stories elsewhere in Southeastern Asia, which adds even more spice and variety to the exotic ingredients which make up my new job.    

Shanghai-based photographer Nir Elias tells of his hike with survivors of the Sichuan quake.