[Leica] China 1976

[cummer at netvigator.com (H&ECummer)]

Hi Luggers,
I was a trade officer with the Canadian Embassy in Beijing in the mid  
1970's.
My slides from that time have been in storage in Canada for the last  
17 years and over the summer I scanned some of them.

Here are 8 pictures showing a visit to Harbin and the Taching oil  
fields in February 1976. The film stock is Extachrome, ISO 160 (I  
think) and the camera is a Pentax K2 with a 85mm F2.0 lens and a wider  
lens, now forgotten, perhaps a 35 F2.0. The set is long gone - given  
away to a photo student.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/_HeavyIndustw.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4o7o4m7

The Harbin generator factory. I made a report on the visit with as  
much info as possible and described the building as "industrial gothic"
About 6 months later a report from the CIA crossed my desk, (we shared  
industrial info in those days) describing the factory's capabilities  
and describing it as "industrial gothic".

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/DecapodPanoW.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4os9hkm

In those days steam engines were the main work horses on the railways.  
The decapod is from an American design from the Baldwin locomotive  
works first sold to Russian and then passed to the Chinese in the  
1920's. When I took this picture China was still producing decapods to  
the old "Russian" design (Ye designation).

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/FixingLtBulbsW.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4egt3n3

Self sufficiency was the word in China in 1976 - here a worker is  
refitting fresh filaments into a burned out bulb. We were amazed to  
see this being done, and the Chinese were equally amazed that as an  
advanced country we didn't recycle our bulbs. I doubt very much of  
China still does this.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/FixingLtBulbs2W.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4vr9gne

Here is another view of the bulb repair assembly line.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/LeatherCutw.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4lcxe63

Trying to be self sufficient in all things they also made leather  
goods - shoes and bags and belts.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/NoodleMakerW.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4kmks9l

And noodles from scratch.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/Sewingw.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4tl5lrh

And clothes for everyone - all in Mao blue

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/China70s/WingMakerW.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/4zbcdmc

And handicrafts to sell. Here the girls are making wings to add to  
pictures of cranes made out of cork.

I haven't been back to Harbin and Taching since then but I would bet  
big money that none of this piece work is being done now.
Everyone is making export goods for Walmart.

C& C always welcome

Your old comrade Howard.