Into the "New West" - Photographs from Beijing to the Tibetan Plateau

Photographic images taken in China by a team of University of Rochester researchers are on display through December 31 in Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center. 

The images were taken during the summer of 2006 on a research expedition to Qing-hai Province, People's Republic of China. Drs. Nancy Chin and Rebekah Loy led the research team, that also included Dr. Chin-To Fong, Matthew Chin, and medical students, Ravi DeSilva, Lauren Ullman, and Alexis Weymann.

In Ravi DeSilva's narrative introduction to the exhibit he states, "Globalizations and international expansion affect each of us in a myriad of ways. Whether it is buying produce grown in South America, traveling to visit relatives in Poland or Pakistan, or keeping up with political changes in East Africa, the realities of an ever more interconnected planet cannot and should not be overlooked. This exhibit is a reflection on aspects of that increasing connection demonstrated in China."

The remarkably colorful photographs reflect a sojourn from Beijing to Xining, YuShu, and ultimately Rima Village, high on the Tibetan Plateau - a photographic continuum from most urban to most rural. Native Tibetan, Han Chinese, Islamic, and Western cultural influences meld across the continuum. Some photos also reflect another type of cultural influence...the photographer!

Coincidentally, the transnational railway connecting eastern China to Lhasa opened during the team's visit. The opening invoked unique parallels to the opening of the transcontinental railroad during America's westward expansion.

Miner Library is open Monday-Thursday, 7:30 am – midnight; Friday, 7:30 am – 8 pm; Saturday, 10 am – 8 pm; Sunday, noon – midnight. Call 585.275.3361 for holiday hours.

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