Photographer lets urban images do the talking

Shen Xiaoming, a 37-year-old Shenzhen-based freelance photographer also known as Bai Xiaoci, has been recording the urbanisation process across the mainland for four years through his camera lens, focusing on people's lives, homes and streets. In one of his latest projects, he zoomed in on government buildings. His photos have sparked online accusations of government corruption and waste.

What's your background?

I was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, and studied at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. After graduation in 1997, I worked at a state-owned enterprise in Shenzhen, but lost my job when the company underwent restructuring. During the internet boom in 2000, I learned to use three software programs - Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash - that helped me land a job as webpage designer. I began posting articles online and was invited by an editor at The Southern Metropolis News to write commentaries. From 2003, I worked as an editor at a local newspaper. And now I run a small business developing iPad applications.

How did you get into photography?

In 2003 when the prices of digital cameras plunged, I spent about 3,600 yuan on a four-megapixel Olympus C4000 camera. Like any other beginner, I joined groups of amateurs to take scenic pictures outdoors. From 2005, I began to document villages in Shenzhen as a witness and recorder of urbanisation. Two years later, I shifted my focus to people's homes.

Why do you like to focus on people and city life?

I myself am experiencing urbanisation because I came from a small town in Zhejiang to the cities of Beijing and Shenzhen. Some say urbanisation is an unprecedented transformation and that 80 per cent of the population will live in cities. Figures released on December 19 showed the urban population had for the first time overtaken that in rural areas. It's a big deal, so I want to record it by focusing at a micro level, such as homes that reflect this big trend. So far, I have snapped photos of more than 300 homes. I like to collect images of different types of homes because some of them carry deeper meanings related to current affairs or historic events. I have also taken photos of earthquake survivors, Sanmen Gorge migrants and workers laid off from state-owned enterprises.