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Xu's 50 years behind the lens
By Gao Liangliang and Tom Qian |
October 1, 2009, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
XU Youyuan has been taking photographs for 50 years and his life's work is a unique history of China.
Xu, who is now 77, came to Shanghai in 1948 from his hometown in Jiangsu Province's Zhenjiang City to be an apprentice at the Huiyi Photo Shop in Xujiahui area. He retired from the Shuguang Photo Shop in Minhang District in 1998.
He is often recognized by customers on the street, some of them saying: "You took photos for me when my son was a kid, now my son had his own son already."
These encounters gladden Xu's heart as he is happy to be remembered for his photographic skills.
The Shuguang Photo Shop, on Jiangchuan Road, will celebrate its 50th anniversary on October 1, sharing the same birthday as the People's Republic of China.
On September 21, 1959, Xu was picked by the government, together with another 10 photographers from all over the city, to go to No. 1 Road of Minhang District within three days to set up the Shuguang Photo Shop.
Minhang No. 1 Road, now called Jiangchuan Road, was a project to celebrate the 10th anniversary of China by the Shanghai municipal government. And the Shuguang Photo Shop was one of the earliest shops there.
Xu went to the shop on September 24 to begin preparations. On September 29 the shop opened for a trial run and officially began business on October 1.
The other shops, including Minhang Restaurant, Guangming Food Store, Minhang Department Store, all opened on the same day to celebrate the 10th anniversary.
An old lady came to the shop recently with a pile of xiao xiao zhao - literally meaning little, little photos, to print.
Xiao xiao zhao were very popular at the end of 1950s and early 1960s as they were a quarter the size of a one-inch photo and cost 17 fen (100 fen equals 1 yuan/15 US cents), much more affordable than the 36 fen for a one-inch photo.
At that time taking photos was an important part of life for girls apart from reading books and watching movies.
"When they had new clothes, they would take one, and when they changed hairstyle, they would take one," Xu said. There was not much entertainment for young people then. Girls not only kept photos of themselves, but passed them among friends as well.
In the 1960s, Xu had one day off every two weeks, and it took two hours to go back his home at Xujiahui. In the most difficult time in 1963, buses ran even slower because of fuel shortages. He had to spend more than four hours on the road getting home. Every time he would buy some eggs, rare at the time, for families as a means of compensation.
There were a lot of families at the time like Xu, working at different locations and meeting seldom, which made family photos popular. At festivals, people would gather together and go to a photo shop to have a picture taken. So Xu never left the shop before midnight on the eve of Chinese New Year.
Xu still remembers some of the regulations that pertained in the 1970s during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). One was that in every photo there had to be a badge with Chairman Mao Zedong's image on it. Also, girls couldn't wear colorful shirts when having their picture taken.
Xu became a manager in the shop in 1984.
Xu's shop sold 50 cameras on its busiest days and 2,000 rolls of film a month on average. And the shop expanded with the use of advanced color-printing machines.
In the early 1990s he cooperated with Luomen Wedding Photo Shop to take wedding photographs. In 1996, monthly sales of the wedding photos reached 430,000 yuan.
Xu retired in 1998 but often went back to visit his former workplace. Xu feels that the traditional picture shop, despite the challenge from digital cameras, will never die.
"People like to have photographs," he said.
Xu, who is now 77, came to Shanghai in 1948 from his hometown in Jiangsu Province's Zhenjiang City to be an apprentice at the Huiyi Photo Shop in Xujiahui area. He retired from the Shuguang Photo Shop in Minhang District in 1998.
He is often recognized by customers on the street, some of them saying: "You took photos for me when my son was a kid, now my son had his own son already."
These encounters gladden Xu's heart as he is happy to be remembered for his photographic skills.
The Shuguang Photo Shop, on Jiangchuan Road, will celebrate its 50th anniversary on October 1, sharing the same birthday as the People's Republic of China.
On September 21, 1959, Xu was picked by the government, together with another 10 photographers from all over the city, to go to No. 1 Road of Minhang District within three days to set up the Shuguang Photo Shop.
Minhang No. 1 Road, now called Jiangchuan Road, was a project to celebrate the 10th anniversary of China by the Shanghai municipal government. And the Shuguang Photo Shop was one of the earliest shops there.
Xu went to the shop on September 24 to begin preparations. On September 29 the shop opened for a trial run and officially began business on October 1.
The other shops, including Minhang Restaurant, Guangming Food Store, Minhang Department Store, all opened on the same day to celebrate the 10th anniversary.
An old lady came to the shop recently with a pile of xiao xiao zhao - literally meaning little, little photos, to print.
Xiao xiao zhao were very popular at the end of 1950s and early 1960s as they were a quarter the size of a one-inch photo and cost 17 fen (100 fen equals 1 yuan/15 US cents), much more affordable than the 36 fen for a one-inch photo.
At that time taking photos was an important part of life for girls apart from reading books and watching movies.
"When they had new clothes, they would take one, and when they changed hairstyle, they would take one," Xu said. There was not much entertainment for young people then. Girls not only kept photos of themselves, but passed them among friends as well.
In the 1960s, Xu had one day off every two weeks, and it took two hours to go back his home at Xujiahui. In the most difficult time in 1963, buses ran even slower because of fuel shortages. He had to spend more than four hours on the road getting home. Every time he would buy some eggs, rare at the time, for families as a means of compensation.
There were a lot of families at the time like Xu, working at different locations and meeting seldom, which made family photos popular. At festivals, people would gather together and go to a photo shop to have a picture taken. So Xu never left the shop before midnight on the eve of Chinese New Year.
Xu still remembers some of the regulations that pertained in the 1970s during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). One was that in every photo there had to be a badge with Chairman Mao Zedong's image on it. Also, girls couldn't wear colorful shirts when having their picture taken.
Xu became a manager in the shop in 1984.
Xu's shop sold 50 cameras on its busiest days and 2,000 rolls of film a month on average. And the shop expanded with the use of advanced color-printing machines.
In the early 1990s he cooperated with Luomen Wedding Photo Shop to take wedding photographs. In 1996, monthly sales of the wedding photos reached 430,000 yuan.
Xu retired in 1998 but often went back to visit his former workplace. Xu feels that the traditional picture shop, despite the challenge from digital cameras, will never die.
"People like to have photographs," he said.
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