40 Years in Photos

Since the launch of reform and opening-up， China has seen changes in every facet of life， from rural areas to cities， from architecture to fashion， from transportation to public consumption and from application of technologies to rethinking the relations between nature and human beings.

Photos recount these stories with flavors of each historical era.

1984

A newly-wed couple in a one-room apartment. A new suit， a bouquet of plastic flowers and a few pieces of furniture were enough to start a family. At that time， China supplied limited commodities. People purchased living necessities under a quota system. It was common in urban areas for three generations to live under one roof.

1981

November 16： Employees of China Railway Chengdu Group gather around a television set to watch Chinese womens volleyball team win the world championship for the first time in history. Television sets were luxury items at that time. China established its first production line for color televisions in 1980. By 1987， the countrys annual output amounted to 19.34 million sets， making China the largest television producer in the world. Today， the country has entered the era of internet， spearheading smart television production with the rise of homegrown brands like LeTV and Xiaomi.

1982

A garment stand on Gaodi Street in Guangzhou， south Chinas Guangdong Province. After reform and opening-up began， self-employed small business owners emerged by the million. This timid stand owner awaits buyers while preparing to avoid acquaintances. Despite governmental support， individual small businesses were still somewhat looked down upon from a traditional standpoint. In 1982， the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China decided for the first time to encourage moderate development of individually-owned small businesses as a necessary and constructive supplement to the public-owned economy.

1983

A young man takes a photo in a cutout featuring a car in Tiananmen Square at a park in Pingdingshan in central Chinas Henan Province. In the early days of reform and opening-up， riding in a car to Tiananmen Square was the symbol of success among Chinese. By the 1990s， many households began to buy private cars as the national economy grew rapidly. Today， China sells the most cars in the world.

1987

November 12： People line up for fried chicken served at the first KFC restaurant in China， located in Beijings Qianmen District. It was also the first Western chain restaurant to open in China. Today， KFC operates some 5，200 restaurants in 1，100 Chinese cities.

1991

Morning rush hour on Guangxin Street， Shanghai. It was a common scene in cities in those days. Bicycles were by far the most popular means of transportation. A total of 63 percent of residents in Beijing traveled by bike and a total of more than 10 million bikes could be found in the city. China was thus dubbed the Kingdom of Bicycles. Today， public transportation and sharing bicycles are encouraged to cope with the traffic congestion after the explosive increase in private car ownership.

1993

Elderly women have their hair permed in a salon in Guangzhou to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year. In the late 1980s， various hairstyles became trendy across China. As people became affluent， stylish lifestyles became more in demand.

1994

A passenger speaks on a cellular phone on a train from Shenyang to Dalian. The cellular phone debuted in the Chinese market in the 1990s and quickly became a symbol of wealth and social status due to its high price. In the 21st Century， smart phones have become ubiquitous in rural and urban areas alike. Today， China has 1.4 billion mobile phone users， 800 million of whom access the internet via smart phones.

2006

September 4： A fashion show attracts spectators at Jianwai SOHO in Beijing. As living standards improved， more and more people began pursuing fashion and beauty.

2008

The first independently-built high-speed railway connecting Beijing to Tianjin was launched. With a top speed of 350 km per hour， it marked Chinas entrance into an era of high-speed railway. From heavily-packed slow green carriages to high-speed bullet trains with tickets purchased online， evolving transportation expands the reach of people. Traveling in China is becoming easier and easier.

2012

July 30： Tourists overlook the Huangpu River from a roof terrace at the Bund， Shanghai. Traveling has become a part of daily life. In the first half of 2018， Chinese tourists visited domestic attractions over 2.8 billion times. Outbound and inbound travels hit 71.31 million and 69.23 million respectively.

2015

November 12： A delivery system is overloaded after the 11-11 online shopping spree the day before. With the penetration of internet， Chinese people are used to the mail-order way of life， and their purchasing power has awed the world.

2013

November 16： Jack Ma （in blue）， executive chairman of Alibaba Group， uses mobile payment in a shopping mall in Hangzhou. Chinese internet giants represented by Alibaba are reshaping traditional methods of payment.

2016

May 30： Customers experience virtual reality （VR） headsets while waiting for service in a restaurant bar in Changsha， Hunan Province. As VR technology improves， many restaurants tap it to attract young customers seeking its application in entertainment， education and medical services.

A young girl feeds a zebra at Beijing Wildlife Park located in southern Beijings Daxing District. During holidays， more and more Chinese set off on road trips and tours to meet nature where it lives.

2017

September 17： A total of 30，000 runners from across the world compete in the Beijing Marathon. Today， fitness through exercise has become a lifestyle.