It took me over 15 months before I was able to return to China to continue my documentation of the final years of this 400-year-old village. Instead of using my usual medium format cameras to photograph the people of Xia He village I’ve shifted to 35mm film for this round of photos. These photos were shot on a Leica M6 or Bessa R2 (a recent acquisition from my trip to Shanghai).

Most of the people I know in the village were surprised to see me again after being gone for such a long period. I had always appeared in 3-4 month intervals and they thought Covid had gotten me after my return to the US last year. One of the older (92 years old) gentlemen that I had photographed a few times passed away the previous August, but most of the other familiar faces were still there to greet me. I arrived in the village one day after a typhoon scored a direct hit on Ningbo and half of the village had a foot of water in the houses.

It was a little strange to return to this familiar place after over a year. In one way it was like I never left. But in other ways, it seemed like a different place where time kept marching forward. A couple of new houses had popped up in this village that has been slated to be demolished. I learned that people were building “straw houses” so they can claim residency and get free condominiums when the government relocates the population.

I’ve photographed the little girl in the first photo every year since she was born – which is why she is holding up three fingers.