Story of Bading Village (I)
Photography: Gao Zhiyong, in an amateur photography career spanning more than 30 years, has traveled extensively throughout Tibet shooting documentary photography.
This photography series from artist Gao Zhiyong shows life experiences of those who live in Bading Village, Tibet, through recording life in a small village, restoring the living conditions of ordinary Tibetans. During his time there, Mr. Gao Zhiyong associated with his fellow villagers from morning till night, living the same life and doing the same work, attaining a deeper understanding of rural Tibet. In his spare time, he used a camera to document fragments of villagers’ lives, capturing a true record of Tibetan village life.
Through Mr. Gao Zhiyong’s lens, we can see the gentleness, friendliness, and inner peace of mind between rural Tibetans, outlining a fresh story of the Tibetan countryside.
December 15, 2013, two musicians from a Tibetan opera troupe. On the day we arrived in the village, they had just invited a Tibetan opera troupe from Se Township in Sakya County to give a performance. The village people were still unfamiliar with us at that time, so they were not willing for us to take photos of them.
January 12, 2014, approaching dusk, the village yaks and sheep return to their enclosures. This is the season when lambs are born, and the villagers all work together to take care of the lambs during this fragile part of life. Village head's mother Dadron is 73 this year, and every day when the herd of sheep returns, she carefully carries the lambs that have not had enough milk to suckle from their mothers nearby.
January 12, 2014, Phurbu family’s 5-year-old daughter, Mima Phutse, and Basang, the 13-year-old son of a herding family, play together. This is the coldest time of year, and the children’s cheeks have been chapped from the cold wind, but the sun still expresses innocent smiles.
January 13, 2014, the sky is already black, 58-year-old Shilo and her fellow pilgrims still happily let me take their pictures. Some of the elderly are already a little tipsy, appearing absent-minded in the slow shutter speed camera. At this time, several children from the village also come to join in the fun. 10-year-old Tseyang has come today to go on a religious visit with her grandmother, their bright Tibetan coats very prominent in the photo.
January 15, 2014, our neighbor Shetse sieves sheep dung in his own sheep enclosure. The sieved dung powder will be used as ground fertilizer, with rounder dung pieces to be used for fuel. 37-year-old Shetse is extremely hardworking, an expert in his work, and he helps out in matters great and small in the village.
January 22, 2014, many people from the village take a photo in front of a backdrop of Lhasa’s Potala Palace and Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. We were trying to choose different angles of light to avoid background reflection. Pema was very willing to do the first test shot.
January 29, 2014, today is New Year’s Eve for the Shigatse Tibetan New Year, and village head Achong’s family has gathered to eat “gu thuk” soup. ”Gu thuk” soup must be eaten on Tibetan New Year’s Eve. Eating gu thuk soup on the 29th day of the 12th lunar month signifies out with the old and welcoming the new. Inside the gu thuk dumplings can be found stone, chili, wool, charcoal, and a coin, representing “hard-hearted”, “sharp tongue”, “soft-hearted”, “a black heart”, and “fortune”, respectively. Shigatse Losar is actually the Tibetan New Year for rural areas. As Shigatse represents the majority of rural Tibetan areas, they use the annual farming season to determine the time of the New Year, avoiding conflicts between the festival and the farming season.