Once common sights on sidewalks, many old professions are giving way to online apps and urbanization. Photographer Huang Ruide captures these fading trades on camera before they’re gone for good.
For young Chinese urbanites, daily life is viewed on a screen. From takeout food to groceries, home repairs to entertainment, all are just a tap away via thousands of smartphone apps. But if they venture out of the digital realm and onto the streets, they may still find remnants of a more analog past: street traders offering to repair shoes, fix bicycles, duplicate keys, and more.
Many street professions like these were once ubiquitous across Chinese cities, and though some still ply their trade on sidewalks beneath towering skyscrapers in the country’s biggest cities, they are gradually disappearing. Rising rent, zealous urban management enforcers, and simple market competition are all taking their toll.
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Fading Trades: Photographing China’s Disappearing Professions is a story from our issue, “After the Factory.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
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