Coastline ZHANG Xiao Zen Photo Gallery/2014/Japanese, English, Chinese/257 x 182 mm China has a long coastline that connects the mouth of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province in the north to the mouth of the Beilun River in Guangxi Province in the south. For the past 30 years, China has been witnessing great changes on a daily basis. Cities are like giant construction sites, where the process of catching up with the rest of the world continues to accelerate. This trend is most evident in coastal areas. Huge numbers of people are leaving their hometowns for coastal areas. Urbanization and economic growth accelerate, while people's spiritual lives stagnate. In China, millions of people each year find work far from home. Around the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), millions of them return to their hometowns for a short time. It is a temporary gathering of clans. People return from all over, from north to south, east to west. In the process, they lose their way home. They wonder where they are really going home. At the same time that the face of the country is changing radically, many traditional ideas and lifestyles are collapsing. The traditional nature of the Chinese people is currently undergoing a severe shock. Losing a place to return to" may be the symptom of China these days. People often ask me, as I take pictures on the street, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Is there anything worth taking a picture of? It is a question I ask myself. That is the question I ask myself. Why did I come here? And I always answer, "Why did I come here? I always answer, "I came here to see. "I just came to look. To look around..." I want to document China as it is today - to record the reality of the people and their landscapes with this camera, and to go to the sea. As a child, I was fascinated by the sea, fascinated by its mystery and inaccessibility. I still feel the same way. I came here in search of strong conflicts and rich images. It may also contain a deep sense of sorrow and loss. The sea is the beginning of life and dreams. At the same time, I am looking for my spiritual home in the sea.