From the introduction of western music to the arrival of American fast food and mobile phones – China has seen sweeping changes over the past 40 years.
And a new photo exhibition, called Reform and Dreams: 40 years of Reform and Opening Up, captures how the lives of the Chinese people have been transformed following the country opening up its borders.
The images, on show in London’s King’s Cross railway station, are by the Xinhua News Agency, the biggest media organisation in China, and the exhibition will mark the first time some of the fascinating shots have been seen in the UK.
The photos show the close relationship between China and the UK and how the past 40 years has seen The Queen’s first visit to the country and sporting superstar David Beckham become a Chinese football ambassador.
Mr Gu, chief of Xinhua’s London bureau, said: ‘Never before has such a unique photographic celebration of China’s Reform and Opening Up been brought to London. With this exhibition we want to show a developing China, and the optimism and enthusiasm of Chinese people in the process of this development.
‘Every Chinese person has played their part in these 40 years of history. Their dreams have converged to form the irresistible power that has propelled China’s development. This exhibition tells the stories of the lives of these ordinary Chinese people for whom past four decades have meant so much.’ Scroll down to see some of the most memorable images from the exhibition…
1979
American violinist Isaac Stern visits a primary school affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music in July 1979. Stern’s first visit opened a window on to Western music in China. The visit was filmed and resulted in the Oscar-winning documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. A number of music students in the documentary – Tang Yun, Xu Weiling, Jia Hongguang, Li Weigang, He Hongying, Wang Jian and Pan Chun – have gone on to become world-famous musicians
1985
Young women are pictured taking training courses at Lumei Beauty Parlor, which was then the most exclusive beauty salon in Shanghai. Shanghai writer Cheng Naishan recalled: ‘I always got my haircut at Lumei at that time. It was a symbol of status among Shanghai women.’ Beauty products branded Lumei were also the most sought-after Chinese cosmetics. They have been presented as national gifts to distinguished guests, including The Queen and then U.S First Lady Nancy Reagan
1986
In October 1986, The Queen was invited by Chinese President Li Xiannian to pay a one-week state visit to China. This was the first ever visit by a British monarch to China. Her Majesty is pictured visiting the Temple of Heaven in Beijing
1987
In November 1987 the very first Western fast-food outlet in China opened, and it was a KFC, in Qianmen, Beijing. Pictured are staff serving customers during a trial-run in October 1987. Shortly afterwards, McDonald’s opened its first mainland outlet in Shenzhen and the two brands created a demand for Western fast food in China, which continues to this day. Not only did the two companies bring a new food culture to China but also new management models and ideas about dining
1990
Two elderly Chinese retirees chat over tea in a courtyard in Langzhong in Sichuan Province, south-west China. The courtyard is hundreds of years old, and perfectly combines the styles of Beijing’s quadrangle courtyards and the gardens of southern China
1993 and 1997
A woman makes a call on a bulky cellphone, fondly known as ‘Big Brother’ at the time, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in 1993, left. Amid the business boom in the 1990s, mobile phones became a favourite communication tool and a symbol of wealth. The arrival of the mobile phone heralded a new era of communication, bringing immense changes to people’s lives. Pictured right is a father taking his daughter to view the illuminations in Beijing, put up to celebrate the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997
2006
At one end of the Tuotuo River Bridge, local residents greet the passing of the first train departing from Golmud on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway opened on July 1, 2006, and is the highest and longest plateau railway in the world
2008
On May 8, 2008, the Olympic torch relay team reached the summit of Mount Everest. It was the first time that the torch had scaled the world’s highest peak. The 2008 Olympics were held in Beijing, the first time the Games were staged in China
2010
Exhausted rescue workers snatch a few brief moments of well-earned sleep in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. A powerful earthquake hit the prefecture at 7.49am on April 14, 2010. The next day 192 rescue workers and 25 sniffer dogs with the Shandong Earthquake Rescue Team arrived at Xining Airport before flying to the quake zone
2013
Year five student Chen Yue (right), also an actress of a local children’s Peking Opera troupe, takes a selfie after a performance in Haimen, east China’s Jiangsu Province. Peking Opera is the quintessence of Chinese literature and art. In order to carry forward traditional arts, some schools in China offer Peking Opera courses
Football superstar David Beckham in action during a game with students at Beijing No.2 High School on March 20, 2013. Beckham was the ambassador for the youth football programme in China and the Chinese Super League (CSL)
2016
Villagers sit at an extraordinary long dinner table to treat other members of the Dong ethnic group to dinner after travelling to Yintan in southwest China’s Guizhou Province on August 9, 2016. The annual Xinmi Festival is how the Dong people, from southern China, welcome the harvest. When the early rice ripens, people worship their ancestors with chicken, duck and fish and also play pipes, sing folk songs, and perform Dong operas
2016
A single vehicle makes its way through a forest in Shanwangping National Park in south west China’s Chongqing Municipality on November 30, 2016
2017
The sun rises on migrating sheep casting slender shadows on the icy Puma Yumco lake in Tibet Autonomous Region in 2017. Due to the high altitude and short summer, the meadows cannot meet the demands of livestock in winter. As the lake is frozen, herdsmen from Doiwa Village move their flocks to an island in the middle of the lake for the winter
- The Reform and Dreams: 40 years of Reform and Opening Up free exhibition featuring 80 images from the past 40 years in China is on show at London’s King’s Cross railway station concourse until December 16. It will then travel to Paris.