Baotong temple is located on the south foothill out of Dadongmen, Wuchang of Wuhan city, Hubei Province. It is one of the four biggest temples in Wuhan. In 1983, it was listed as the main key national Chinese Buddhism temple by the State Council. The Baotong temple began construction at the reign of Baoli second year of Tang Dynasty (826). It was also known by the name of “small Jinshan Mountain” because it is similar to the Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang. The Qing Dynasty government sponsored the ancient temple with silver coins to carry out repairs for many times during the Kangxi emperor 15th years to 30th years (1676-1691). It became the first Buddhist temple in Wuchang after restoration.

Halfway through my month-long stay in Wuhan, China…far too many experiences, impressions and photographs to post. Here are some recent images…

The motto of Wuhan is “Different Every Day,” because the city is growing so quickly. I’ve seen it myself, teams of workers transforming the urban landscape with great efficiency. There are many parts of Wuhan that are as nice or better than the best shopping, commerical and cultural centers in Los Angeles. Opera houses, riverfront walks, high-end merchandise of all descriptions…. in the malls, the escalators are programmed to save energy by moving slowly until sometime steps on them, then they speed up. There are jumbo video screens playing advertisements in stores and on buildings. One mall near my apartment places giant stacks of free water bottles in the open. Han Street, where most of these photographs were taken yesterday, even features a full-blown Madame Tussauds Wax Museum…

A couple of days ago I met up with two journalism students from Wuhan University, and we went on a nine-hour marathon street photography/sightseeing tour of the city. We visited some of the funkier and artsy commercial districts, and the site of the original capital building of Republic of China (now a museum). We crossed the Yangtze River by ferry, where we took a walk though the oldest, “colonial” part of the city. There were many things that caught my attention, to many to mention, but more than anything the sheer multitude of people walking everywhere, and the thriving economy, is very impressive. Wuhan is a city that most in the West have never heard of, and don’t think of it as a major Chinese city, yet in sheer geographic size and population it is at least as big as New York City. 

This post is a mixture of photographs taken with the Nikon DSLR and an iPhone 6S… I’m really enjoying walking the streets of Wuhan, especially the back alleys where the little markets and shops are. I needed a button replaced on one of the few dress shirts I brought with me, so I wandered into a tiny little dress shop with a manual sewing machine in the door. The tailor, a woman who was watching a movie or something on a PC laptop, happily sewed a new button while I waited… I pushed myself to make a little more interpersonal contact, something I wish came easier but I don’t have anything more than the most perfunctory Chinese vocabulary, and as I was told would be the case, outside of the universities not many people have any reason to bother with English. So there is a lot of smiling, nodding, non-verbal communication, and for the most part it’s working out pretty well so far….

Tags: china

daveblume:

#china

Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province in central China, seems an interesting mix of traditional culture and booming modernization. It is an educational center with many universities, so the majority of the people on the crowded sidewalks and streets seem to be college-aged; the photograph of the two young ladies with the selfie stick is very representative of this. There is a lot of construction going on, and already the downtown area features some very high-end shopping, including a Western-style mall that is several stories tall and sells all the latest fashions and merchandise. It’s difficult not knowing Mandarin, and it is rare to find someone in a market or restaurant who understands or speaks English. This makes the work of a street photographer trickier than it already is. Nevertheless in spite of the cold, sometimes rainy weather, and a persistent sore throat and cold that seems to be getting worse with each passing day, I’m looking forward to exploring the city, seeking to find people and places of interest.

Kickstarter launch for book, Africana 1987-1994 is underway. All are welcome:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daveblume/africana-a-humanist-documentary-photography-book

https://www.facebook.com/events/1134251283269353/

Read more about the project here.

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In the gutter….

In the gutter….

Malibu noir….

Malibu noir….