Lu Guang (; Traditional: 盧廣; born 1961) is a Chinese independent

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

. His work consists of large documentary projects on social, environmental, and economic issues, exposing the lives of "people on the margins of Chinese society: coal miners, drug addicts, HIV patients." His stories on pollution and environmental destruction cover topics traditionally under-reported due to the risk of punishment by the Chinese government. He has received three

World Press Photo World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the organization holds the annual World Press Photo Contest for press photography. Since 2011, World Press Photo has orga ...

awards, the Henri Nannen Prize for photojournalism, the W. Eugene Smith Grant, a photography grant from the ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

,'' and the

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awa ...

. Lu is based in New York City, the first Chinese photographer to be invited by the U.S. State Department as a visiting scholar, and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In early November 2018, whilst travelling in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, he was taken away by state security agents. He was released in 2019.

Life and work

Lu was born in 1961 in the city of Yongkang in the

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

province of China. He grew up under

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

's policies in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Under Mao's rule, PR China saw a doubling of average life span of people and established the industrial base, which would bolster China's rise as the world's biggest industrial giant in future. In 1980, Lu encountered photography while working in a silk factory in Yongkang. From 1987 until 1993, he ran his own photo studio. Later, he studied photography at the Fine Arts Academy of

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

(

) from 1993 to 1995. He worked for several years on advertising assignments before going freelance as a reportage photographer. During his years of study at Tsinghua University, Lu encountered Xie Hailong, another Chinese photographer, from whom he gained inspiration to become a photojournalist. Lu's work covers a wide range of consequences of China's rapid industrialization. A reoccurring theme is that of " cancer villages" in certain affected provinces, the negative environmental conditions (such as water pollution) causing these cancer villages and other related health issues, and the effect of industrialization on Chinese countrysides and its people. Lu has stated that his choice of subject in his photography is done to raise awareness in both China and on a global scale.

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

province is the setting for a photograph within the series capturing severe birth defects present in the children living there. The province is also one of the most polluted areas in China. Beyond the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

, Lu also documented pollution in the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

River and the

Qiantang River The Qiantang River (), formerly known as the Hangchow River Postal Map Romanization, or Tsientang River, is a rivers of China, river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial c ...

, with leaking sewage from the industrial districts. Heavy sewage and air pollution in

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

City of Henan province is shown negatively affecting the lives of villagers. His projects have included one on

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in the Chinese province of

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

as well as ''Pollution in China,'' ''Gold Rush'', ''Drug Girl,'' and ''Development and Pollution''. Lu's photographs have been published in the ''

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

,'' and by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

. "Un des leurs", ''Greenpeace Member'' magazine 4/2017,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, pages 21-25. He lives in New York. Because of his reporting on social issues, Lu has faced attempts to stop his work. Lu is based in New York City, the first Chinese photographer to be invited by the U.S. State Department as a visiting scholar, and

. In early November 2018, whilst travelling in

, Lu was taken away by state security agents and has not been heard from since. A restrictive security regime with re-education camps for the predominantly Muslim ethnic

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

and

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

is in place in the region.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

is concerned Lu's detention may relate to this situation in the region and has called on the Chinese government to "release him immediately", and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

has called on it to "immediately confirm and clarify" his "whereabouts and well-being". In September 2019, Lu's wife Xu Xiaoli published on Twitter that Lu had been home for a few months.

Awards

* 2004: First Prize,

, Contemporary Issues category, for a story about Henan province peasants who had been infected with HIV after selling their blood. * 2008: Henri Nannen Prize for photojournalism from Gruner + Jahr. * 2009: $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund for his project ''Pollution in China.'' * 2010: Photography grant from ''

'' to support a project documenting pollution in China and its impact on people's lives. * 2011: Third Prize, World Press Photo, Spot News category. * 2013:

."Lu Gang: speech by ambassador Jacobi"
,

Prince Claus Fund The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Award ...

(page visited on 29 December 2017). * 2015: Third Prize, World Press Photo, Long-Term Projects category for his project ''Development and Pollution'' in China.

Exhibitions

*2017: ''Development and Pollution,'' Visa pour l'Image, Perpignan, France

References

External links

* Sample work
Pollution in China
* Lu Guang Interview
World Press Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Guang 1961 births Living people Tsinghua University alumni Artists from Zhejiang Chinese photojournalists