Discovering a Real China

This book presents over 300 color photos shot by French photographer Bruno Barbey， which captured many historic moments in China both before and after its reform and opening up.

In 1973 when then-French President Georges Pompidou made a formal visit to China， Barbey came along as an accompanying journalist. He brought Kodachrome film and became the first photographer to shoot China in blazing color.

Since then， Barbey has frequented China， exploring Beijing， Shanghai， Sichuan Province， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， Hong Kong， Macao and other places in the country. He has documented not only the meeting scenes of Chinese and French leaders， but also lives of many ordinary Chinese people with his camera. Many of his photos arouse memories of the past， which are better preserved on color negatives than back-and-white.

World-renowned photography critic and curator Jean Loh shared a story in the preface of the book. In 1973， Barbey snapped a girl who was waving a red scarf in the rain to see off French President Pompidou at Shanghais Hongqiao Airport. In 2006， the girl， still living in Shanghai though in her 50s， read a report about Barbey and identified herself in the image. She managed to visit Barbey in France， and in 2016 Barbey personally gave her a print of that photo with his signature.

Dong Qiang， dean of the Department of French Language and Literature at Peking University and a lifetime foreign corresponding member of Frances Academy of Moral and Political Sciences， wrote in the preface that Barbey endeavored to discover China as it is. “His photographs take me back to the China of my childhood，” claims Dong. “His eyes， like a flowing mirror surveying the world， gaze into China several times， not only to record our colorful past but also to reflect on our diversity， confusion and hope.”

Bruno Barbey was born in 1941 in Morocco and joined the Magnum photo agency in the 1960s. He served as vice chairman of Magnum Europe from 1978 to 1979， and then as chairman of the photo agency from 1992 to 1995. His photographic works are famous for cohesive use of color. He has traveled five continents and witnessed countless military conflicts. His photographs have also been published in many magazines worldwide and collected by many museums.

Born in Saigon （now Ho Chi Minh City）， French curator Jean Loh now resides in Shanghai. He has curated the exhibitions of many famous photographers like Marc Ribound， Bruno Barbey and Claude Sluben. Loh is a member of the editorial board of Trans Asia Photographic Review and a member of the nominating board for the Lucie Awards. He has also served as the editor for over 20 photo books.