Seeing is believing 眼見為實

Before coming to China whatever little I knew about the country came from my interaction with Chinese people abroad, news reports by foreign media and endless speculation. I always felt that the mainland was culturally similar to India, where I grew up, and radically different from the US, where I was born. I never expected to see a Tesla on the road or use Uber to get around the city, but as they say, anything is possible in China.

來中國之前，我對這個國家的大小事情都是通過與國外的中國人交流、國外媒體的報道和無盡的遐想了解到的。我總是以為中國大陸在人文上與我長大的地方印度相同，與我出生的地方美國完全不同。我從未想象過在路上看到一輛特斯拉或使用優(yōu)步游覽城市，但正像他們說的，在中國任何事情都是可能的。

However, the media functions very differently here, and one of my first concerns was whether I'll be able to take pictures freely on the streets of Beijing. Will locals shoo me away? Would they want to be photographed by a stranger? Will the photos be compelling?

然而，這里的媒體功能很不一樣，我首要關心的是我是否能在北京的街道上自由拍照。當?shù)厝藭盐亿s走嗎?他們愿意被一個陌生人拍照嗎?這些照片會引人注目嗎?

Besides this, I was concerned with what I wanted to say about China through my photographs. Did I want to blindly add to the ongoing narrative or focus on aspects that one doesn't see in the news. Would I spend my time photographing the guards at Tian'anmen Square or rather be exploring the punk scene in Beijing? Many of these answers became clearer when I began documenting the city through news assignments and daily features.

除此之外，我還關心我想通過我的照片對中國表達些什么。我是想盲目的加入到持續(xù)的故事中還是關注一些新聞看不到的方面呢。我該把我的時間花在拍攝天安門的警衛(wèi)上又或者是探索在北京的朋克的場景呢? 當我開始通過新聞和日常特點來記錄這個城市的時候，這些答案變得清晰起來。

My first assignment came minutes after I arrived at the photo department. There was a loud procession on the street outside and my editor told me to run. Getting there I realized the procession was a traditional Chinese wedding between an American and a Chinese girl. It was a unique and exciting start to my internship. The photo was published on page two and was widely circulated online; I was elated.

我的第一份任務在我到達攝影部幾分鐘后就來了。外面街上有一個熱鬧的隊伍，我的編輯讓我跟上去。到了那里之后我意識到這支隊伍屬于一個美國人和一個中國女孩的中國傳統(tǒng)式婚禮。這讓我的實習有了一個獨特又令人興奮的開始。照片在第二頁上發(fā)表并在網(wǎng)上廣為流傳，我為此感到自豪。

While I'm here, I want to use my foreign perspective as a strength, with the understanding that what may be exotic and unfamiliar to me, may be equally familiar and mundane to a Chinese audience. Although my photographs at China Daily are primarily for a foreign readership, I am curious about how Chinese people see my work. Am I just another outsider projecting my own idea of China onto my photographs, or am I able to work and think like someone who belongs here?

在這里，我就想用我的外國人視角作為一種優(yōu)勢，用我的理解——對我來說可能是異國情調的或陌生的，但對一個中國觀眾來說卻是熟悉而平凡的。雖然在《中國日報》上我拍攝的照片主要是針對外國讀者的，但我很好奇中國人是如何看待我的工作的。我是不是另外一個把自己的觀點突顯到自己照片中的局外人呢，又或者我能夠像屬于這里的人一樣思考和工作嗎?

Does my work depict China accurately? Does it provide any insight that one may not get from books? Is it meaningful?

我的作品能準確描述中國嗎?它能提供一些書上無法得到的見解嗎?它是有意義的嗎?

At this point I have more questions than answers and I feel like I've only scratched the surface. Although I would love to play in my backyard for a few years, I hope to one day, play in the field.

在這一點上我的問題多于答案，并且我感覺我只是觸及了表面。雖然我很喜歡這樣繼續(xù)做幾年，但我更希望有一天我能真正融入其中。

Akash Ghai, 23, is a photographer from India who graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a major in Visual Journalism and a minor in Business studies. He's currently at China Daily's photo department and will complete two months of his internship.

Akash Ghai是一位23歲，畢業(yè)于賓夕法尼亞州立大學的印度攝影師，主修視覺新聞，輔修商業(yè)研究。目前他在《中國日報》的攝影部門并將完成為期兩個月的實習。