China Obscura

by Mark Leong

Book Overview

Arriving in mainland China by chance just a day after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, young Chinese-American photographer Mark Leong was compelled to stay and explore with his camera's lens the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811844617
• ISBN13: 9780811844611
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 1.0" x 1.0"

Customer Reviews

Great document of post-Tianamen China

Mark's work embodies the raw feeling and sense I've always felt in China. His work is journalistic in it's explorations and perspective, and serves as a great document and window for everyone to see a slice of post-Tianamen (1989 - 2003) China. An easy add to anyone's library of books on China.

Excellent pictography on China

Leong's beautiful, yet haunting photographs show us a side of China not covered by the media's focus on China's economic growth story. The compositions are arresting and the content intriguing.

China from the ground up

First, full disclosure: I have known Mark Leong for 10 years and worked with him as a colleague in China. So this may account for my bias, but I believe that his photos of modern-day China are among the best taken during the post-Tiananmen era. During my decade as a correspondent in China, I always wanted to work with Mark because I thought his gritty, in-your-face pictures captured a side of China that often was overlooked. Instead of showing us the by-now stock shots of high-rises and neon lights, he took viewers to the street level, his 28mm lens always getting reeeeaallly close up into people's faces. I loved it and this book brings back in superb detail the China that I knew in the late 20th and early 21st century. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in China--it's a beautiful, affordable addition to anyone's library.