This collection of photographs is an ongoing series of children’s portraits of rural and urban China. Some are from villages tucked away in deep remote areas which appear to be a world apart from the tremendous economic growth that many cities are experiencing. During the last year I volunteered my spare time to help and assist some families in need. Most of the children roaming the streets are abandoned due to China’s one child per family law. The majority are girls. Luckily in the areas I visited most children are adopted by local families, although many children are still ‘lent’ to other families, in an attempt to avoid consequences for giving birth to more than one child. I’ve witnessed a case where a girl was abandoned and eventually adopted by an other family when she was only a few days old, after 3 years her biological parents took her back with great emotional distress for the adoptive family and completely disregarding the heartbreaking cries of the girl. In rural areas daily life is very tough, animals and humans share the same harsh environment. The hardship and sadness transpires through the eyes of the beautiful children I met and played with.
