Marc Riboud has continually returned to China since the 1950s to photograph the development and change of a country that he loves. Here, he offers a personally chosen retrospective of his best images of China, ranging from the Great Leap Forward to the economic boom, from the severe egalitarian poverty to the "nouveau riches", from the Cultural Revolution to the cult of money. All the photographs are complemented by captions, anecdotes and personal reflections. Arranged chronologically, this work opens with images of China in the 1950s, which can sometimes be seen today. In the photographs which follow, Riboud depicts the contrasts and reflections between old China, while the book's final section is devoted to the extraordinary changes that this country has undergone in the 1980s and 1990s - from glass towers and giant interchanges to machinery and mini skirts.

Photographs by: Marc Riboud
Preface by: Jean Daniel