[Leica] China 1976

[hopsternew at gmail.com (Geoff Hopkinson)]

Remarkable insights, Howard. Now eclipsing even Japan as an economic and
regional powerhouse and a huge trading partner for our natural resources
here of course.

Cheers
Geoff

*Life's not black and white, except at both ends*
http://www.pbase.com/hoppyman



On 25 March 2011 17:43, H&ECummer <cummer at netvigator.com> 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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