A Living Time Capsule: 30 Years in a Chinese Village

For 30 years, photographer Hei Ming has captured the transformation of Xinyaozi, a small village in northern China’s Shaanxi province. Through his lens, he documented daily life—from farming and weddings to education and migration—telling a bigger story of China’s social changes.

In the 1990s, villagers lived in cave homes, earned very little, and rarely saw college graduates. Today, incomes have soared, education levels have risen, and many work in cities as teachers, programmers, or entrepreneurs.

Hei Ming’s photos show the same people—from children to adults—revealing shifts in fashion, technology, and dreams. As he says, “One person’s life is a story; 100 people’s lives become history.”

A powerful visual journey of time, memory, and progress.

#ChinaRuralDevelopment #SocialChange #DocumentaryPhotography #VisualHistory

By Li Yue, Zhan Yue(intern), Kong Siqi/ China Youth Daily