BackArts & Culture » [Photos] In Guangxi, Life Goes on as if Urbanization Never Happened

[Photos] In Guangxi, Life Goes on as if Urbanization Never Happened

Just across the border from Vietnam in Guangxi, China, the Dong ethnic minority leads lives far removed from massive cities churning out cell phones, computer chips, skyscrapers, high-speed trains; and, nouveau-riche buying up the world's most important dinosaur skeletons for display in private homes. 

In scenes similar to those that play out amongst many of Vietnam's rural communities, the Dong people live in austere conditions, depending on their natural surroundings for survival.  The wood they gather in the verdant mountains surrounding their towns helps them earn money as well as serves as central building materials for homes that lack heat or running water.

Selling vegetables, tending to livestock or enjoying a simple bowl of noodles, the photos taken by Parisian journalist-turned-photographer Francoise Gaujour reveal lives that parallel those of ethnic minorities in remote Vietnam more than those associated with China's rapid development.

Take a look at the snaps below:

[Photos via Beehance user Francoise Gaujour]


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