Just ten years ago, an extraordinary exhibition of forty leading Asian photographers documenting and presenting life in the most populous country in the world was held in Prague's Rudolfinum. Since then, the socialist People's Republic of China, with which we have enjoyed seventy years of economic and friendly relations, has achieved a long list of social and economic successes. The current photography exhibition „Today's China“, at the Ambit Gallery in the centre of the Czech capital, tells the story of all this.
Instead of a preface to the following lines of the article, we will use a few sentences from the speech of the then ambassador of the PRC Zhang Jianhmin in Prague, who said at the opening of this top cultural and social event:
“A small lens mirrors the changes of an entire era, each frame telling the story of China's response to the challenges of the time. This photographic exhibition, consisting of more than sixty images, is divided into four parts - politics and economy, science and technology, natural scenery and happy life. Together, they paint a spectacular picture of China's development and its human, warm dimension. Through these photographs, we wish you to experience the efforts and determination of a country and feel the dreams and pride of a nation.”
The exhibition is therefore composed of both documentary and artistic shots and snapshots. Let us introduce it in more detail.
Four stops
The political section consists of three photographs and the economic section consists of fifteen photographs documenting the following facts:
Since 2012, the Chinese government has adopted more than 3,000 major reform measures that have effectively removed obstacles to development. Between 1979 and 2023, the average annual growth of the Chinese economy was 8.9 %, and China's contribution to world economic growth has been around 30 % over the long term.
The fight against poverty
China has won the largest and most intensive fight against poverty in human history, benefiting the largest number of people, creating a miracle in the history of global poverty reduction. Thanks to the „precision poverty alleviation“ policy, by the end of 2020, more than 800 million people had been lifted out of poverty by World Bank standards - representing more than 70 % of the total number of people lifted out of poverty in the world over the same period, and more than the sum of the populations of 44 European countries. On average, more than 12 million people have been lifted out of poverty each year, equivalent to the population of a medium-sized country. China thus met the UN poverty reduction target set for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development a decade early.
The second section, entitled Science and Technology, presents fifteen photographs
As visitors to the exhibition can see, the rapid development of scientific and technological innovation and the widespread adoption of digitalization are fundamentally transforming the economic map of China and greatly facilitating the daily lives of its people. Looking to the heavens - from the Tianwen mission exploring Mars to the Chu Qiao communications satellite, China is writing the Chinese nation's own epic in space.
Looking at the ground - the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the vast network of multi-level intersections connect mountains and rivers, forming solid arteries of economic development. At the cutting edge of innovation, quantum computing clusters are unlocking the future codes of the digital era; in the countryside, smart irrigation, smart greenhouses and agricultural drones are changing the face of traditional farming. From robot duels in Hangzhou province to drone formations dancing under the night sky, science and art are intertwining to create compelling images of contemporary China.
Sixteen shots are dedicated to landscape and nature
As an economy of extraordinary scale, China is simultaneously developing economic construction and promoting green transformation, thereby enhancing certainty in global climate governance. The PRC is pursuing the concept of green development, intensifying environmental protection, reducing pollution and carbon emissions, expanding green spaces, and building a beautiful country where people live in harmony with nature. Through prudent planning and optimization of the energy structure based on new renewable resources, China has created the world's largest clean energy generation and transmission system. In 2024, for the first time in history, the installed capacity of solar and wind power will surpass that of coal-fired power plants.
Happy life section (15 photos)
Development is the fundamental solution to instability and the surest path to security. Since embarking on reform and opening up to the world, the People's Republic of China has overcome numerous development difficulties to become one of the safest countries in the world.
Its government has steadfastly pursued a long-term vision of development and has focused on securing and improving the living conditions of its people. It has built the most extensive education, social security and health care systems in the world, is pursuing the largest and fastest urbanisation process in history, and has a housing support system that helps 170 million vulnerable families. At the same time, infrastructure in cities and less developed rural areas has been steadily improved, and 78 000 community service facilities have been set up to care for the elderly and children, contributing significantly to the happiness of the population.
Bottom line
The Chinese government emphasizes the harmonious development of the economy and people. With the modernization of industry, new opportunities are developing across the country - from internet entrepreneurs to rural renewal leaders to scientists and professional technicians. Its people are thus fulfilling their dreams and realising their personal values in an environment of stability and security, as the whole complex concept of the extraordinary photographic exhibition at the Ambit Gallery on Jungmann Square in Prague, which has, so to speak, risen to the challenging task of introducing Central Europeans to contemporary China in several dozen photographs.
Ivan Cerny
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