Life and Travel in China

After the visit of President Xi Jinping, discussions broke out about the export of Polish products to the Chinese market. Of course, there are many opportunities and possibilities, but knowing life, many will be wasted. Exporters can be happy, but I don't know if the average Pole should be happy. The Chinese market is very receptive. Some countries have already introduced limits on the sale and export of baby milk. The Chinese are buying more and more food products from outside Asia. Price doesn't really matter. If exports from Poland to China start in full swing, unfortunately, some products may simply become more expensive here in Poland. Producentom, hurtownikom i eksporterom b

Sometimes I can't keep up with where and when my Chinese friends travel. I admit that for many people long journeys have become an everyday occurrence. A Chinese man who runs his trading company travels all the time to European countries, Canada, Africa and the USA (previously also the Middle East). Both on business and privately with family. Another has already bought an apartment in Dusseldorf because he does business with Germans and his children are already studying in Germany. My friend regularly flies to exotic islands such as Phuket, Bali and the Maldives (you can envy her), and runs several businesses: an advertising agency and a SPA salon. Another friend boasted that she was flying from the USA to Germany to attend some forum. Another Chinese woman, my model used to be a frequent visitor to Australia and the USA. Money and visas are no longer a problem. Let me just point out that in order to obtain a visa, they often have to show how much wealth and bank savings they have. Currently, many Chinese people living in medium and large cities boast significant wealth. Back in the 1990s, such trips would have been impossible. At that time, only politicians, important businessmen and a small number of exchange students with universities, most often from North America and Europe, traveled. Of course, many Chinese people buy significant amounts of powdered milk, branded chocolate and whiskey during these trips.

It's probably hard to imagine, but I know a Chinese person who moved from Shanghai to Germany because life is cheaper there! It makes you realize how much it costs to live in a big Chinese city. He paid EUR 15,000 per semester for his son's private school. Now in Germany education is practically free. Apartments in Shanghai are basically 2-3 times more expensive than those in Essen or Dusseldorf. Besides, life in Germany is not that difficult because many Chinese have emigrated there. They have Asian food stores, there are many Chinese restaurants. Of course, food and taxis will be cheaper in Shanghai, but some services and education are much more expensive. However, the overall balance and quality of life favor the German city. Of course, they also like Poland, but Germany simply means better prospects and greater opportunities for business/trade development for them and their son. It is a pity that Poland is only now beginning to notice the power of Chinese capital.

I haven't spoken to you in a long time and I haven't added new photos for a long time. I can explain myself again as having too many responsibilities. In addition, I have started cooperation with a well-known photography agency and I try to add photos that will be used in the press, books and all kinds of publications. While reading the book "Get a Photo. My History of Press Photography" by John Morris, I realized how important photos are (I don't mean the file size in MB ;-) ), how important a role they play in the world. Most of the photos I present here tell a story. At this stage, these are my stories and my memories, although I would like to share them on a larger scale. I once mentioned that by manipulating the description of a photo and cropping it appropriately, you can achieve the intended effect. Of course I don't like this. The photo should be authentic, real. The word 'objectivity' and 'lens' (of a camera) are very close. While sound, image and text content can be manipulated and lie (which we can see every day in the Polish media), a photo is more difficult to manipulate and use in a subjective way. Therefore, a photo is not a tool, but a work, an expression of something, evidence. I like the term 'authentic fact', although linguists make fun of it. It seems to me that there are fewer and fewer authentic facts in the media, but we have many twisted and manipulated facts that currently serve primarily to break up Polish society, maintain tensions and quarrels. There is censorship in China and there is only one correct version of all events. This is hypocrisy, oppression, restriction of freedom, but at the same time it blocks the division of society, the nation is uniform and in a sense harmonious (of course, all minorities living in the Middle Kingdom are harmed here). Coming back to the essence of my post - photography shapes the worldview, tells different stories and I would like my photos to be more useful. I also plan to scan all archive photos from China from 2003-2006, maybe then I will find some more 'gems' that I will share on this website.

Just 10-15 years ago, most goods produced in China were intended for export. Few people could afford decent household appliances or electronic toys, and no one paid attention to branded shoes or clothes. Currently, the vast majority of technologically advanced phones, computers, household appliances, modern toys, decent clothes, shoes and watches go to the domestic Chinese market. Back in 2004, I remember that there weren't many toy stores in China, but that's where the vast majority of toys for the entire world are produced. Lego stores and boutiques selling electronic gadgets and technologically advanced toys have been operating for several years now, and the shelves in hypermarkets are full of various toys. The Chinese now have enormous purchasing power, and many corporations and designers take advantage of this situation by dictating arbitrary prices for their products and services. In China, it is no longer a question of 'Can anyone afford it?', it is only a question of 'How many thousands of people will buy this product?' For several years now, China has been a great market for branded handbags, shoes, yachts, sports cars, unique jewelry and works of art. The Chinese treat such large-scale purchases as fun, investment and prestige. Unfortunately, it is also associated with the corruption of society, because many young people do not know the value of money and do not know what hard work is. While their parents (the generation that is now 40-50 years old) remember poverty or even hunger, they already live in a modern superpower such as China.