Photography: Chinese Families Pose With Everything They Own

When I saw this very interesting photography collection which showcases rural, poor Chinese families posing with all their belongings, I was really touched. This is the kind of thing that really puts our lives into perspective. According to the Urban Dictionary, first world problems are “problems from living in a wealthy, industrialized nation that third worlders would probably roll their eyes at.” We have tons of these first world problems, right?

We complain about our slow Internet, our bad hair days and Facebook when it’s down. We get frustrated when our iPhone runs out of battery or when we have to take the stairs because the elevator is broken. We get mad when we spill a glass of water, often never stopping to think that in some places around the world, women walk for eight hours a day just to get a glass of clean water for their families.

Huang Qingjun spent almost a decade traveling around rural China and asking residents to carry all their belongings outside so they could be photographed with everything they own. Of all the Chinese families he’s asked to do this, none of them have ever told him no. Obviously people living in the modern cities of China aren’t living this lifestyle, but these are people living in the rural areas. Some of them live in mud houses, and some of them only recently got access to electricity. Check out how many televisions are in these photos, interesting.

If you want to read more about this project, click over to an in-depth article on the BBC website called Chinese Families’ Worldly Goods In Huang Qingjun’s Pictures. So the next time you get frustrated because you have a flat tire or your iPad runs out of battery, just remember, you are still blessed. By the way, these Chinese families could be the happiest families in the world. I’ll save that perspective for another day…