[Leica] China 1976

[photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)]

Interesting and amazing to see.

I had lunch today with a senior manager from the Korea Intellectual Property 
Office, who has been visiting our office this week. He told me that when he 
was born around 50 years ago, his country was on the level of an African 
country. The changes in Asia are just amazing.

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog

YNWA







On Mar 25, 2011, at 8:43 AM, H&ECummer wrote:

> Hi Luggers,
> I was a trade officer with the Canadian Embassy in Beijing in the mid 
> 1970's.
> My slides from that time have been in storage in Canada for the last 17 
> years and over the summer I scanned some of them.
> 
> Here are 8 pictures showing a visit to Harbin and the Taching oil fields 
> in February 1976. The film stock is Extachrome, ISO 160 (I think) and the 
> camera is a Pentax K2 with a 85mm F2.0 lens and a wider lens, now 
> forgotten, perhaps a 35 F2.0. The set is long gone - given away to a photo 
> student.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/_HeavyIndustw.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4o7o4m7
> 
> The Harbin generator factory. I made a report on the visit with as much 
> info as possible and described the building as "industrial gothic"
> About 6 months later a report from the CIA crossed my desk, (we shared 
> industrial info in those days) describing the factory's capabilities and 
> describing it as "industrial gothic".
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/DecapodPanoW.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4os9hkm
> 
> In those days steam engines were the main work horses on the railways. The 
> decapod is from an American design from the Baldwin locomotive works first 
> sold to Russian and then passed to the Chinese in the 1920's. When I took 
> this picture China was still producing decapods to the old "Russian" 
> design (Ye designation).
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/FixingLtBulbsW.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4egt3n3
> 
> Self sufficiency was the word in China in 1976 - here a worker is 
> refitting fresh filaments into a burned out bulb. We were amazed to see 
> this being done, and the Chinese were equally amazed that as an advanced 
> country we didn't recycle our bulbs. I doubt very much of China still does 
> this.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/FixingLtBulbs2W.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4vr9gne
> 
> Here is another view of the bulb repair assembly line.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/LeatherCutw.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4lcxe63
> 
> Trying to be self sufficient in all things they also made leather goods - 
> shoes and bags and belts.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/NoodleMakerW.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4kmks9l
> 
> And noodles from scratch.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/Sewingw.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4tl5lrh
> 
> And clothes for everyone - all in Mao blue
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/WingMakerW.jpg.html
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/4zbcdmc
> 
> And handicrafts to sell. Here the girls are making wings to add to 
> pictures of cranes made out of cork.
> 
> I haven't been back to Harbin and Taching since then but I would bet big 
> money that none of this piece work is being done now.
> Everyone is making export goods for Walmart.
> 
> C& C always welcome
> 
> Your old comrade Howard.
> 
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