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By APD Writer Yang Yang
“In the 80s and 90s, some people might only have one chance to take a picture at the Tian’anmen Square in their lives. I was one of the photographers who took pictures for them and the only one still there now.” As a photographer that runs a photo booth at the Tian’anmen Square, Gao Yuan began to take pictures for tourists since 1979.
In the past 38 years, Gao has taken hundreds of thousands of pictures at the Tian’anmen Square. In his view, each picture is of great importance to visitors. Because the wrong addresses visitors gave him or they had left in a hurry before photos were developed, more than 1,000 old photos failed to be delivered to their owners, which now disturbs him as he will retire soon.
It’s a great pity if these photos were thrown away as they carry special meaning for visitors, Gao said. So he hopes to find out these visitors to return the photos. If they come to Beijing again, he will take another photo for them for free.
A man comes from the countryside of south China. When the photos at the Tian’anmen, he was dressed in a set of coir raincoat that was brought from his hometown. All pictures of this piece are recopied by Li Yanbing, a journalist from “The Paper”
Holding the portrait of his late father, the man in the picture came to the Tian’anmen to fulfill his father’s wish of photographing at the Tianenmen Square.
Holding an old-style marriage certificate, the elderly couple from southwest China’s Yunnan took the photo in the front of Tianenman Tower to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.
Holding his medal he just won, an old man posed for the photo.
In 1985, the elderly man from central China’s Henan Province took this photo when accompanying his father to see the doctor. Now the photo has been delivered to the man. Provided by Gao Yuan
An envelope used in the old days when photos were sent to their owners by mail.
Gao sighed with emotion: “The last 30 years have witnessed tremendous changes in the Tiananmen Square.”
According to Gao, about 100 people have contacted him via Weibo or phones, but only a few of them fetch their photos back.
Gao said, the photo booth he runs remains in its original place in the past 38 years. Before 1983, it was called "state-owned Xicheng photo studio” on the west side of the flag pole. Now, it’s renamed as “No.6 booth” He said that anyone who has been photographed here is welcomed to take another photo for free.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
