By Erik Oatman

Since the beginning of Chinese-European trade in the 13th Century, the most densely populated country in the world has acquired and adapted to western standards of trade and business. With China becoming the next economic super-power of the world, the country has been gradually shifting from a communist to a capitalist society. Westernization, modernization, and perpetual reconstruction continue to spread through every major city in China.
During my tour of China this summer, I visited Hong Kong, Beijing, Xian, and Guilin. I photographed many images that struck me as strange or out of place, mostly unexpected people, places, and things that occured as a result of the constant modernization and reconstruction of this country. Through the images depicted in this essay, I hope to give the viewer a glimpse of the relationship between the economic and social change in a country so different from our own.

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