WINNERS

Xizhou, 2015

  • Photographer
    Mark Fisher, United States
  • Prize
    Bronze Winner in Photojournalism/Photo Essay

In 2015, I visited the ancient village of Xizhou, Yunnan, China, with my Hasselblad and many rolls of film. Founded during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE), it later became a prosperous trade town with the formation of the Tea Horse Road in the 700s CE. Over time, it also became the region's intellectual capital, which led to purges and arrests in Xizhou during the Cultural Revolution. I came back 10 years later to document how it had changed, and it was unrecognizable. The economy of China boomed during the 10 years, as did tourism...but that is another story.