YANG, Li - 404 Not found - ORIGINALLY SEALED COLLECTOR'S EDITION!

Personal statement by Chinese photographer Li YANG, background information

"The photos in Li YANG's photo book '404 not found' were taken in a Chinese city called '404'. '404' is just a code given to the city, which has no other name and was and is not marked on the map of China. The city '404' was built in the 1950s. At the time, around 50,000 people lived there in an area of no more than one square kilometer. '404' was the earliest and largest nuclear technology research base supporting the atomic bomb projects in China. After the first nuclear and hydrogen bomb explosions in 1964 and 1967 respectively, its establishment was instrumental in significantly enhancing China's international status in the world. Although small in size, '404' had all the government departments like other cities in China; including public security bureaus, land, public education and people's court, etc., all of which were built and operated in such a small residential area. '404' was a remote place in the Gobi Desert. Apart from the stones, only one kind of plant called camel grass could survive naturally in the harsh desert environment, and all the trees in this place were planted by artificial cultivation.
When the city was founded, elites from all areas of the country were selected to go to '404'. At that time, the city had gathered the best nuclear scientists, technicians, cooks, teachers, doctors, etc. in the country. They came here, built the city of 404 with their bare hands in the Gobi Desert and have never left since.  After working and living there for half a century, these people died and ended up being buried there too.
I belong to the third generation of '404' - I was born there and lived there until I was 19; every photo in this series relates to my own experiences and those of the people around me. The scenes include my kindergarten, my elementary school, the same school my parents attended, the public bath we visited weekly and which was also an important social place for the local people, and the two poplar trees I planted myself. etc. This was once our home, full of life. After half a century, people moved away from '404' in the early 2000s, leaving deserted scenes everywhere.  When I came back with my camera and saw these deserted scenes, I felt like I was standing in front of a completely different world, feeling very familiar and yet very strange at the same time." (freely translated text, © Li YANG)

Additional information

The photo volume '404 not found' by Li YANG seems to deal with a specifically Chinese theme, but abandoned places can also be found in prominent examples such as the 'Prypat' photographs by Roberto POLIDORI (2003) or the winter amusement parks by Jussi PUIKKONEN ('On Vacation', 2008). '404 not found' contains architectural photographs taken around the year 2000 after the abandonment of a city created in secret in the 1950s. The city, designed as a research base near the Gobi Desert, was once home to up to 50,000 people. The pictures document the current state of the city; while road markings, for example, still appear to be completely intact and the plant life has not completely taken over, the decay of the buildings, most of which have been completely cleared out, is visible. In addition, almost all first floor openings are bricked up, reminiscent of abandoned buildings in this country and buildings that once stood too close to the inner-German border (the Wall).

About Chinese photographer, Li YANG (b.1984)

Photo books by and with works by Li YANG