Photoblog

About Muslim quarter As the name implies, the Xi’an Muslim quarter is the area were the Muslim community of Xi’an is concentrated. It is located just north of the Drum Tower in the city center; the quarter covers several blocks and it is inhabited by over 20,000 Muslims. There are about 10 mosques in this area with Great Mosque in the Huajue Lane being the most famous and popular. But the area is not so popular among the tourists because it is the hub of the Chinese Muslim community in Xi’an, but because is a well known food and souvenir market. The main street, Beiyuanmen Muslim Street, about 500m long, is a really charming place; the street paved with dark colour stone has restaurants, stores and stands on both sides and all the owners are Muslim. A bit of history: In the old days, Beiyuanmen Muslim Street was the place for diplomats and merchants. Gradually, the population increase and the descendants of those immigrants are the today inhabitants...

Our first interaction with rural Gunagxi was an afternoon in a small village were we photographed a buffalo farmer. The village was just in the middle of rice harvesting and the roads were covered by freshly collected rice, drying out in the sun. We were surprised to see people, animals and cars walking and riding over the rice. Everybody was happy, collecting the food that will help them to survive during winter. A collective effort that will end up with many bags of rice in the village granary. It was a hot afternoon, with clear sky over the surrounding karst mountains. Our models were waiting for us, by the road. The female buffalo was still covered with a thick layer of mud; she was a bit annoyed that her afternoon siesta in the swamp was interrupted. The owner, a stocky man was dragging her by a rope. The rope, passed through the nose of the buffalo, gives the mean of control to the farmer over the strong animal. For the next hour, the farm...

All the travel brochures presents Shanghai as a modern and international city. They all show the Bund and the amazing architecture seen from there, the tallest observation platform in the world or the vibrant shopping streets and malls. But besides that, Shanghai has another face: neighborhoods almost stuck in time. Only 4-5 kilometers away from the myriad of lights and colors of financial center, there is another world of colors and smells, around Yuyuan Garden and Old Town.  It is another face of Shanghai, that requires scratching a bit the surface and spending time to explore it. And it will reward you with colorful urban landscapes; with interesting human figures populating a world that is dying every day with each deal that owners of the decaying houses are agreeing with municipality. It will be soon replaced with modern neighborhoods, office building and shopping center, able to accommodate and give employment to a larger portion of the continuously increasi...