“China – Portrait of a People” reveals a diverse land

"China - Portrait of a People" unveils a diverse people and land
"China - Portrait of a People"

Amazing what can be found when cleaning one’s desk. Sitting in a pile of I-will get-to-this-tomorrow items was photographer Tom Carter’s astonishing book “China – A Portrait of a People.”

Published in Hong Kong by Blacksmith Books in 2008 and re-released in 2012, “China” is way more than a coffee-table book. Photographed while backpacking over two years, it captures people, landscapes and structures in the country’s 33 provinces.

It is not a book to peruse in one sitting. Composed of 800 color photographs across 638 pages, it is an honest reveal of life in cities, back roads, desert climes and subtropical jungles.

The book is available from Amazon. To see and hear Carter, check out this video. It starts with him in a classroom where he was teaching English. From it you understand he has a sense of humor and appreciates the importance of the individual.

Author: Jodie

Longtime Chicago Tribune contributor for news and features. Travel writer for What's Happening, Lakeland Boating and A&E for CBS