China: Portrait of a People

"China's rise is the story of the century," writes Matt Schiavenza, editor of The Atlantic's newly launched China Channel -- a new avenue for our expanding coverage of the world's largest nation in the 21st century. In that spirit, today, I'd like to introduce photographer Tom Carter. Nine years ago, Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera -- just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot -- Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. He then collected 900 of these photos into a book titled CHINA: Portrait of a People. Carter writes that his photos help to show that "China is not just one place, one people, but 33 distinct regions populated by 56 different ethnicities, each with their own languages, customs and lifestyles." Carter was kind enough to share some of his portraits here, on the day that The Atlantic launches its new China Channel.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Paul Morigi / Getty
    • In Focus
    • 12:49 PM ET
    • 20 Photos

    A Collection of Cherry Blossoms

    Images of flowering cherry-blossom trees across the Northern Hemisphere

  • Julio Cortez / AP
    • In Focus
    • March 27, 2023
    • 21 Photos

    Photos: Damage From the Tornado Outbreak in Mississippi

    Images from the small town of Rolling Fork, which was struck by a destructive EF4 tornado

  • Anupam Nath / AP
    • In Focus
    • March 24, 2023
    • 35 Photos

    Photos of the Week: Sky Bar, Kansas Sunset, Flooded Fields

    Drought conditions in Spain, heavy snow in California, the Fallas Festival in Spain, the start of Ramadan in Indonesia, cherry blossoms in Japan, a sandstorm in Inner Mongolia, and much more

  • Agung Parameswara / Getty
    • In Focus
    • March 22, 2023
    • 15 Photos

    Ogoh-ogoh Parades Welcome the Balinese New Year

    Giant demonic effigies are carried through the streets of Bali, then burned in purification ceremonies.

Most Popular on The Atlantic

  1. Something Odd Is Happening With Handbags
  2. The Only Realistic Answer to Putin
  3. How Did America’s Weirdest, Most Freedom-Obsessed State Fall for an Authoritarian Governor?
  4. My 6-Year-Old Son Died. Then the Anti-vaxxers Found Out.
  5. Stop Sharing Viral College-Acceptance Videos
  6. In the Age of Ozempic, What’s the Point of Working Out?
  7. Dungeons & Dragons and the Return of the Sincere Blockbuster
  8. The Gun
  9. T. S. Eliot Saw All This Coming
  10. What Carl Sagan Understood About Human Cruelty
Back to Top