CHINA 1981-1982
In the early 1980s, China felt like a country emerging from a long winter tentative, bright, and quietly hopeful. CHINA 1981–1982 captures this fragile threshold moment, when Reform and Opening Up had just begun and the atmosphere of the cities carried a sense of awakening.
Through Akiyama’s lens, we encounter hand painted shop signs, red public telephones, and streams of young people gliding past on “Erba” bicycles the sturdy 28 inch frames that once defined urban mobility. Blue Mao suits move calmly through streets softened by morning mist. Laundry dries in pale sunlight. Dust lifts from pavements. The photographs seem almost scented with memory.
What makes this body of work so affecting is its restraint. There is no spectacle, no grand declaration of change only subtle evidence of a society shifting its weight forward. The expressions of young people are confident yet unguarded. Their presence embodies the emotional charge of the 1980s, an era later romanticized in literature as passionate and idealistic.
Following the 2019 reprint of Chinese Children (Dear Old Days), Akiyama began revisiting and organizing his archive of negatives. Between 2020 and 2023, subsequent volumes Dear Old Days II, Dear Old Days III, and the special issue Encounter/A extended the series. Yet more than 7,000 unpublished negatives remained.
Rather than limit the narrative to “children,” this new volume broadens the frame. It returns to the moments when Akiyama instinctively pressed the shutter gestures, streets, faces, and fleeting urban details. Together, they form a portrait not just of youth, but of a nation poised between memory and possibility.
Akiyama’s photographs reveal both strength and delicacy: the humble sincerity of daily life, the unadorned beauty of cityscapes still marked by a previous era, and the quiet emotional undercurrent of transformation. His images resonate beyond geography. For viewers in China and abroad, they awaken something intimate and long forgotten, a reminder of how history feels before it becomes history.
+++
Language: English, Japanese & Chinese
Format: Hardcover | 140 pages
Dimensions: 295 x 250mm | 630g
Publication Year: 2025 | First Edition
ISBN: 978-4-909787-13-2
Enjoy Free Delivery on Orders Over MYR 150 Within West Malaysia!
Shop your favorites and get free delivery when you spend MYR 150 or more. Available for delivery addresses within West Malaysia, so you can enjoy convenient shopping with no extra shipping costs!
Delivery lead times are 7-10 business days within Malaysia and 10-21 business days for other locations.
We have a 15-day return policy, which means you have 15-days after receiving your item to request a return.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, unworn or unused, with tags, and in its original packaging. You will also need the receipt or proof of purchase.
You can contact us at info@zontiga.com to request for a return. Once accepted, we will send you a link to return your item via shipping provider.
Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will NOT be accepted.
Some items on our site have limited stock. If an item is out of stock, you may have the option to pre-order it. Please note that delivery times for pre-ordered typically range from 4 to 8 weeks, unless specified otherwise.
We recommend checking product availability and delivery estimates before placing your order to ensure a smooth shopping experience. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to fulfill your order.
Support the Zontiga Photobook Library by co-donating a book! Use the code donate2library at checkout to purchase a book at a 50% discount—Zontiga will cover the other 50%.
Please note that the book won’t be shipped to you; it will be sent directly to our library. As a token of our appreciation, you’ll receive a thank you gift from us.
Your contribution helps us expand the library and make it accessible to more photography enthusiasts. Thank you for your generous support! To learn more about the Zontiga Photobook Library, click here!