Exhibition organized by Aperture Foundation and curated by Michael Hoffman

Drawn to the People's Republic of China by its dramatic upheaval and its rich cultural legacy, the world's greatest photographers offer thrilling proof of the power of the camera to explore -- and convey -- the human experience.
Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, China: Inside the People's Republic presents the work of twenty-five distinguished Chinese and Western photographers, conveying the depth of their involvement in the politics, culture and everyday life of the Chinese people.

Few countries have seen such drastic changes in the twentieth century as has China. Images by the great photojournalist Robert Capa capture the turbulence of the period leading up to the founding of the Republic in 1949. This momentous event and the face of the new republic is portrayed in the compelling work of Wu Yinxiang, while the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution two decades later is seen through the lens of Li Zheng Sheng.

The unending diversity of China's regions, cultures and peoples are revealed in the extraordinary color photographs of Hiroji Kubota; stunning black and white panoramas by Lois Conner resonate with allusions to China's great landscape painting traditions. Reagan Louie, captures the extraordinary mix of traditional life and modernity in the hamlets and cities of his parents' homeland, creating color images of cinematic immediacy.

Also included are photographs by Liu Heung Shing, Eve Arnold, Wu Jialin, Antonin Kratochvil, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Mark Leong, Lu Nan, Zhang Haier, So Hing Keung, Wong Wai-Hung, Wang Jinsong, Gao Bo, Xing Danwen, Stuart Franklin, and Han Lei, among others. Taken together, the image makers have created visions of China as broad and diverse as the country and its society, making China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic an extraordinary visual exploration of an extraordinary place and time.

China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic, the online companion to this exhibition, includes hundreds of images, separate sections on each photographer, and much more.

The Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York, NY 10021. Galleries Hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M., Thursday 11:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M., Sunday noon-5:00 P.M. Closed Monday and major holidays. For more information the public should call (212) 517-ASIA or visit www.asiasociety.org.