China 1983
One-child Policy
When preparing these pages, I was pondering to show all China photos in black & white, but because of the presentation it was going to be in color. Starting with the very colorful 'Little Emperors' you will see the clothes of the kids change to the 'Mao-blue', or army-green worn by the adults and elderly. Back then the streets were filled with people walking or on bicycle, dressed in blue or green. All women wore trousers, most had short hair and many a stainless steel hairpin, much like the women during the Khmer Rouge years in Cambodia. The only women I saw in a dress or skirt were in Uyghuristan, or Xinjiang province, worn by the muslim women (over their trousers).
The strict One-Child Policy was at the time already showing its disastrous effects with families over-feeding and -pampering their only child, creating the so called 'Little Emperors', and newspapers reported back-then already regularly on the selective abortions of girls, in favor of the preferred boys.
The strict One-Child Policy was at the time already showing its disastrous effects with families over-feeding and -pampering their only child, creating the so called 'Little Emperors', and newspapers reported back-then already regularly on the selective abortions of girls, in favor of the preferred boys.
'Little Emperor'
|
What policy?
|
|
Free fall trousers
|
Blowing bubbles on the sidewalk
|
'Protection' against the dust
|
Waiting for mama
|
Uyghur kids enjoying ice cream on a donkey cart
|
School yards in cities show small number of kids
|
Peeing competition
|
Not happy
|
Curious, but keeping a safe distance
|
Popular concrete skating ring, with the young men already in the 'Mao blue' and army green
|
'Fighting' with paper swords
|
Noon-break escape from reality for a few cents at a roadside cartoon library
|
Reaching for his gun…..
|
Keeping warm in Chengdu winter
|
RUN! ….. he's taking our photo!
|
Streets filled with people in 'Mao Blue' or army green, most of them walking or on bicycle ……. no cars or motorcycles yet.
|
Black & blue
|
No private motorized transport in 1983 yet, only a few taxi's and trucks and buses. The laundry hanging to dry shows the people wear a bit more colors under the blue and green.