It is nigh on thirty years ago when I first came to China. Then it was only just welcoming Westerners, whether tourists or businessmen, and the country was very much the same as it had been for decades. I wanted to record it before it changed. Before all the skyscrapers were flung into the sky, before the old ways of life would disappear. Not being sentimental about this, I don't look back and say these were better days. They probably were not: poverty was rife and many people lived in torrid conditions. They were unsure then whether the promises would truely turn into the golden promises. This is primarily a collection of photographs but also short essays on the places I went to. Nothing profound about them. They are there to record a time and a place.