For his epic series, Coastline, Chinese photographer Zhang Xiao toured every town and city on the Chinese seaboard over the course of four years, beginning at the mouth of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province, and continuing all the way south to the mouth of Beilun River in Guangxi Province. That’s 11,000 miles of ground covered and an abundance of photographic opportunities realized. Deemed a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and exempt from taxes and regulation back in the ’70s, during the economic and social reforms that took place under Deng Xiaoping, the coastline became congested with people relocating in search of success.

“People flooded into the city from their hometowns to let a small fishing village become a metropolis with millions of residents,” Xiao explains. Drawn to the ocean after quitting his day job at the Chongqing Morning Post to pursue his own endeavors, Xiao’s Coastline exhibits the captivating and often bizarre scenes that exist along the Chinese waterways, while exposing its diverse, complex evolution. The confidently composed photographs capture the journeys and detours of life’s landscapes. Since the release of this standout series, the photographer has produced a number of sensational bodies of work, received several awards and exhibited throughout Asia and internationally. —Austin McManus

Originally published in the August, 2016 issue of Juxtapoz Magazine, available in our webstore.

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"China has a long coastline that stretches from the mouth of the Yalu River in the Liaoning province in the North to the Beilun river in the Guangxi province in the South. In total, that coast is about 18,000 kilometers. There have been great changes in China since it began opening itself up 30 years ago. The cities are like big construction sites, speeding up the pace to catch up with the rest of the world. All of this appears particularly outstanding in China's coastal areas. A multitude of countrymen leave their native places to go there. It’s as if people’s spiritual life stays behind, while the coast represents this new, accelerated version of growth and change."

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"During the Spring Festival, hundreds of millions of people return home for a very short time, so the whole family can be reunited. They come from everywhere, North to South, East to West. People often lose a sense of self in this mass travel time. Perhaps this is a symptom of being Chinese during this time of travel, lacking a sense of belonging."

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"When I was a child, I was eager to go to the sea and I felt it was this mysterious place, that I could never touch it. I still feel this way. I come here to seek out strong emotional conflicts and rich images. The sea is the beginning of lives and dreams, and at the same time, I am looking for a hometown in my heart.

The coastal areas are the windows of China; open with the wide world as a bond. The coastline is beautiful and dolorous. So many people come here with dreams but then are drowned in the crowd, and they are forced, finally, to just go with the stream."