People and Places Photography Archive

People and places PhotographY Archive

Regularly updated archive of photographs I've taken over the years.
All photographs © Gregory B. Lee

LOOKING AT THE FOREIGNER – slideshow – 看老外

When I was first in China in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were several places I visited where I was often one of the first foreigners local people had ever seen. That was especially true of the younger generation and of places that had just been "opened up" after the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution So, while my camera was focussed on a person or person it was more often than not their gaze that came first, and mine a return of their gaze. They were merely engaged in the pastime of "looking at the old foreigner" or kan laowai 看老外.

stilt-walkers at a spRing festval temple fair - beijing 1987

Stilt-walking, or 踩高蹺 cǎi gāo qiāo in Chinese, a long-standing folk entertainment stretching back at least two thousand years, had all but vanished during the Mao era.
I took these photographs of stilt-walkers some four decades ago in the fading light of a late January day is south Beijing at a "temple fair" or 廟會 miàohuì. Although the fair was no longer attached to a temple the name for this customary social and commercial gathering had stuck. Temple fairs took place during the period leading up to the Spring Festival, also known now as Chinese New Year, which in 1987 fell on 29 January. There were stalls selling food and lanterns and toys along the street. It was a very grey day in the depth of the Beijing winter, and I was about to pack up my camera and go home when I happened upon these stilt-walkers performing down a side street. They were advertising a show that was to take place later on. Although the light was bad, the vibrant colours stood out in the sombre winter's day. I was compelled to capture the moment.
Here the performers are dressed as characters from the The Journey to the West or Xīyóujì 西遊記, a fiction credited to Wu Cheng’en 吴承恩 (1501-1582). The work is also translated as Monkey. It recounts the legendary pilgrimage of Tang Buddhist monk Xuanzang 玄奘 who travels to the West (the West being Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sutras. He was accompanied by three disciples Sun Wukong 孫悟空 or Monkey King, Zhu Bajie 豬八戒 or Pigsy/Pig (the idiot), and Sha Wujing 沙悟淨 or Sandy, who are all portrayed in this stilt-walking performance.

buddhist CAVE ART

series 2 – the longmen grottoes STATUARY

luoyanG, henan, China 1981

slideshow

Like the images in Buddhist Caves Series 1 (see below) these photographs of the Longmen grottoes were taken some 45 years ago when Longmen had just been declared visitable.
The Longmen Grottoes were initiated around the year 493 when the capital of the Northern Wei state was reloacted to Luoyang. Construction continued for more than four centuries, until the Northern Song (960 - 1127). Most surviving works date from the Northern Wei and the the Tang (618 - 907).
Much closer to China's heartland and more accessible than the Dunhuang Mogao caves, by 1981 the Longmen site had already become popular with domestic tourists, who in this early post-Mao moment were more interested in clambering over the giant statues that paying their respects to the Buddha.

china 1980: DAY-TRIPPERS AND TOURISTS

slideshow

These photographs taken during 1980 in China. Domestic tourism was in its infancy; most had to be content with day trips, often organized by the 'work unit' or 'danwei' 單位. However, there were already the beginnings of a burgeoning middle class (peopled by the children of government functionaries) with their own distinctive pattern of consumption, especially in terms of fashion. However, the profile of the domestic tourist would change dramatically over the succeeding decade with enriched peasants becoming the main consumers of China tourism.

buddhist CAVE ART

series 1 – the mogao caves

dunhuang, Gansu, north-eastern China 1981

slideshow

These photographs were taken some 45 years ago when the Mogao caves had just become accessible again after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and at a time when the site had not yet been museumified. Some of the paintings and sculptures shown here are from well-known caves, others I have not seen reproduced elsewhere.
The Buddhas hand gestures are known as mudras. In image showing a painting in cave 423, the Buddha displays two complementary mudras, the Abhaya Mudra with left hand raised to chest level, palm facing outward and fingers pointing upwards symbolizes the dispelling of fear, and the assurance of peace and protection.The Varada Mudra with right hand lowered, pointing downwards with palm open signifies charity and compassion.
Note: If you spot anything in the labelling that could be modified, please get in touch. I'll supply further series of images from Dunhuang in future.

post-mao china

1979-1983

slideshow

ON THE STREETS IN NICE

2026

SLIDESHOW

a village in the luberon on a winter's eve

2026

slideshow

The photographs were taken in February of this year. During the Second World War, the unassuming village of Céreste became the headquarters of the region's maquis or resistance led by the poet René Char (1907-1988), otherwise known as Capitaine Alexandre.It was in these streets that the members of his network resided.

SUNRISE,SUNSET AND SEA

(1978-2024)

SLIDESHOW

FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS - THE WOMEN

From the age of seven, when my grandfather died, I was brought up solely by women. My grandmother, my mother, my great aunt, my aunts all formed a significant presence in my life. Apart from their presence, their stories, their tribulations, their outlook on life all counted in my childhood and adolescent socialization. Here are some photographs of them at various stages in their lives.

My grandmother. Aged 17.

"Merry wives." My great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my great aunt. Wales. Circa 1945.

' My mother in the Wrens.' (The Women's Royal Navy Service). Towards the end of World War II.

"My mother and grandmother during World War II."

"My mother and her sisters-in-law." Rhyl, Wales, Circa 1951. The dogs all had Greek names: Cosmos, Kalliopi and Eleftherios.

'With my mother'. Upper Canning Street, Liverpool. 1958.

'With my grandmother.' Upper Cannng Street, Liverpool. 1964.

LEE in China, Taiwan, HONGKONG 1978-1996

SLIDESHOW

'Busy going nowhere.' Beidaihe 北戴河, China. May 1981.

'White stupa before renovation ' A building site near Peking University, Haidian.海淀區白塔庵塔 December 1982. Religious-type monuments and structures such as these had been left to crumble during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). It's now a paying monument open 09.00-16.30 https://www.haidianmuseum.com/p-824.html

'Shanghai Bund' 上海外灘 , China, 1981.

‘The fishing brigade.' Beidaihe 北戴河, China. May 1981. I like this photograph because it's redolent of the propaganda pictures that used to be published during the Cultural Revolution in glossy magazines such as China Reconstructs.

'Man sitting in the canteen doorway.' Urumqi 烏魯木齊 ئۈرۈمچى Xinjiang 新疆 August 1981.

'The breakfast stall.' Urumqi 烏魯木齊 ئۈرۈمچى Xinjiang 新疆.August 1981.

'The barber shop.' Beidaihe 北戴河, China. May 1981.

'Fear eats the soul' , LUMA in "a town called Arles" (Robert de Niro, Ronin), France. 2026.

'Roadside cafe.' Seville, Spain. 2026.

'The Dance Instructor.' Coal Hill Park 景山公园 August 2005

'Selling oranges.' Kunming 昆明, China, February 1983.

Urumqi 烏魯木齊 ئۈرۈمچى August 1981.

'Girl Selling Tea.' Xi'an 西安. China. August 1981.

'School Outing.' Beidaihe 北戴河 China. 1 June 1981.

'Busy going nowhere.' 北戴河， Beidaihe, China. 1 June 1981.

Golden hour over Shawan Drive 沙灣徑, Hong Kong. September 1995

'The last golden sunset' The islands from Pokfulam 波夫林, Hong Kong Isalnd. 29 June 1997.

'Boy hauling a cart.' Changsha 長沙, China. February 1981

'Girl hauling a cart.' Changsha 長沙 February 1981. China.

'Porte sarrasine surmontée de la tour à horloge.' 'Clock tower over castle entrance.' Viens, Vaucluse.

'La tour de la Pousterle at sundown in January. Viens, Vaucluse.

'January Sunset, Provence.'

'Broken bowel on an icy wall in January.'

'Statue of Mao Zedong.' 毛澤東塑像. Chengdu, Sichuan 四川成都 February 1983.

Sichuan, where Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang implemented market-oriented reforms and put the economy on a firm footing, saw the dismantling of numerous statues of Mao Zedong in the early 1980s. Here, beneath this surviving statue in front of a building site is a Deng Xiaoping-era banner encouraging socialist modernization, in other words economic reforms.

'Dog running into house.' Hangzhou, 杭州 1980.

'Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.' Macau 澳門. September 1978.

"Canon Jade Princess Tour Boat (built 1924)." Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. September 1978.

"Star Ferry boat Celestial Star 天星" 香港 Hong Kong. September 1978.

'Hong Kong Planetarium'. September 1981.

'Victoria Harbour junk'. Hong Kong. September 1981.

'Victoria Harbour.' Hong Kong. September 1981.

"Miles Davis" by Niki de Saint Phalle, Hôtel Le Negresco, Nice, France. 2026.

'St Andrews Harbour'. Fife, 2021.

"Los Potros". Roadside cafe, Sevilla, Spain, 2026.

'Lamposts' Lungomare Araldo di Crollalanza, Bari, Italy' 2025.

'Cafe, Lungomare Araldo di Crollalanza.' Bari, Italy, 2025.

' Lungomare Araldo di Crollalanza 1.' Bari, Italy. 2025

'Dancing in back-street Urumchi # 1.' Xinjiang. 新疆烏魯木齊 ئۈرۈمچى, Ürümçi, August 1981

'Dancing in back-street Urumchi #2.' Xinjiang. 新疆烏魯木齊 ئۈرۈمچى, Ürümçi, August 1981

'Number 2 bus'. Kunming 雲南昆明. February 1983

'Dog running into a house'. Hangzhou . 杭州春天 1980.

'Beidaihe: Cooling off.' China. 北戴河. June 1980

'Beidaihe: Thos who have and those who have not' China. 北戴河. June 1980

'Through the arch'. Liverpool Chinatown, Nelson Street. 2009.

Yums Oriental Buffet and Korean Fondue Restaurant. 東方美食城 [Oriental food court]. Liverpool, Bold Street. 2006.

‘New Empire' 新皇朝 [New imperial dynasty]. Dublin. 2009.

Le palais de la Chine [China palace] 皇宮酒家 [Imperial palace restaurant]. Lyon. 2006.

In 2006, I started some sideline research on the naming of restaurants in the Chinese diaspora which often show a discordance between their name in the European language and their name in Chinese.

A shopping street in Kowloon, Hong Kong, featuring medical practices, pharmacies and restaurants.香港九龍. 1978.

'Serve the people'. Soon to be demolished propaganda wall on the Lake With No Name, Peking University. 北京大學未名湖. 1979.

A few years ago, a former Peking University chemistry student wrote to me to say that it had been his task to regularly freshen up the paint on this wall, and that what we see here is his handiwork. He later left to study in the USA. The wall was demolished along with other revolutionary monuments around campus.

'Contemplating lunch.' Tanzhe Temple, Beijing. 1980. 潭柘寺

‘On the beach'. Qingdao. 青島1980.

‘Waiting for the bus.' Qingdao (Tsingtao) 1980.青島

‘Fulintang pharmacy, Kunming, established 1857.' 1980. 昆明光华街31号福林堂藥店.

'Early morning sword practice on Shanghai's Bund'. 上海灘. May 1990.

Capela de São Francisco Xavier/Chapel of St. Francis Xavier. Coloane, Macau. 澳門路環聖方濟各聖堂. 1978.

Peasant visiting the Beijing shopping Street, Wangfujing. 北京王府井. 2004

'Market day'. Kunming. 昆明. January 1983.

Vegetable store, Peking University. 北京大学. Autumn 1982

Derelict building, Jingchun Garden, Peking University, 北京大學境春園. Autumn 1982.

Christmas mass. Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Beijing 宣武門天主堂. 1982.

Man with walking stick. Turfan 吐魯番. 1981.

Kazakh family in their yurt. Heaven's Lake, Xinjiang 新疆天池. 1981.

Boy against a wall in a lane. 1982. Beijing. 北京

Backstreet Beijing. 1985. 北京

Peasant bringing his garlic crop to market. 1986. Beijing 北京

'Fishing with cormorants on Suzhou canal'. December 1985. 蘇州

‘The melon sellers'. Turfan, Xinjiang. July 1981. 新疆吐魯番 تۇرپان

‘The girl with no lunch'. Chengdu, Sichuan. February 1983. 四川成都.

'Girl selling tea'. August 1981, Xi'an, China. 西安

'Little emperor and proud mother'. China under the one-child policy. Beijing, 1986. 北京

‘Selling winter vegetables on the street’. Taking advantage of the new free market in Chengdu, Sichuan, February 1983. 四川成都.

;Corn hung out to dry;. Shilin, Yunnan, 1983. 雲南石林.

'Off to school'. Kunming, Yunnan, 1983, 雲南昆明.

‘Stone rubbing seller displaying rubbings of inscription carved into Mount Tai.' 山東泰山賣拓印圖片. May 1980.

'Mount Tai tea peddler' Taishan, Shandong, May 1980. 泰山賣‪茶水的農民

‘Mount Tai tea peddler‘s kettle and stove' 山東泰山 Taishan, Shandong, May1980

Goose and turkey. Turfan, Xinjiang. 新疆吐魯番 July 1981.

"Minaret, dust road, goatherd and goats" July 1981 Erected in 1778, Emin Minaret or Emin Tower lies next to the Uyghur mosque located in Turfan, Xinjiang. 新疆吐魯番 . At 44 meters it is the tallest minaret in the region of China.