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'China’s Outer Lands' – a look at the plight of ethnic minorities in China

Q. Sakamaki’s 'China Outer Lands' photographs are a poetic scrutiny of cultures sidelined in China's race for prosperity.

China's Northeast was once called Manchuria, a territory occupied for a time by Russia and Japan. It is now facing upheaval, with China’s rapid economic growth itself creating a disparity between the poor and the better off and even more unemployment.

In Xinjiang, China’s resource-rich far west, originally inhabited by Uighurs who practice Islam, the social, cultural, and ethnic landscape of the region has dramatically changed. Chinese government-supported development projects, fortified by millions of ethnic Han Chinese migrants, have been destroying the traditional life of the Uighurs. The economic gap between the region's old inhabitants and newer arrivals has also widened. These changes have, according to human rights groups, created a profound backdrop of violent political unrest.

In the eighth to ninth century, Shaxi, home to the Bei minority, was part of Nanzhao, a kingdom of Tibeto-Burman people. Prosperous during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has since descended into obscurity, and much of the local population has migrated to bigger cities in search of work. While most people in Shaxi live in poverty, in 2001 the World Monuments Fund designated Sideng Market a “most endangered” site, together with many of the old wooden temples, theaters, and homes in the region.

China’s surge to the fore of the global economy has lifted millions out of poverty yet contributed to the widening gap between rich and poor, excluding Uighurs, Manchus, Bais, and Mongols — ethnic minorities who have produced some of the empire’s greatest historical figures. Coming from different mother tongues, prohibited or discouraged from participating in the mainstream, they seesaw between conformity and originality, autonomy and dependence, while witnessing their culture’s sublimation into a generalized Han Chinese identity. (Q. Sakamaki/Anna Van Lenten)

Raised in Japan, Q. Sakamaki moved to New York in 1986. His interest in documentary photography was sparked by the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riot in New York. His photographs have appeared in books and magazines worldwide and have been the subject of solo shows in New York and Tokyo. His work on Liberian child soldiers is in a worldwide prevention media campaign. Among the many honors he has received are four POYi prizes, two Overseas Press Club awards, and World Press Photo. He has published five books, including 'WAR DNA' covering seven deadly conflicts, and 'Tompkins Square Park' (PowerHouse Books, 2008). He is represented by Redux Pictures.

China’s Outer Lands’ by Q. Sakamaki exhibition opening, slideshow, discussion led by Jamie Wellford, picture editor and independent curator – Tuesday March 31, 2015, 7:30 p.m., are part of the ongoing The Half King Photo Series in New York City. On view through May 26, 2015.

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