How a global traveller came home to reconnect with China of his youth and preserve fading traditions
- Photojournalist and art collector Keren Su never forgot the ‘living museum’ he encountered on a 6,800km bike ride across China nearly 40 years ago
- He built three lodges, the first a traditional wooden structure with no nails, that are cultural museums, art galleries and rustic rural stays rolled into one
Standing amid the misty hills and highland rice terraces of Longsheng in southwest China in 1997, Keren Su had a vision.
“I dreamt about building a house just like the traditional houses in surrounding villages, which are built the ancient Chinese way: entirely wooden and not a single nail. It took me nine years to fulfil that dream.”
At the time, Su was photographing the so-called Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Guilin. He found some land for sale and his vision took flight.
“I am an art collector. During the Cultural Revolution they destroyed so much art, especially folk art, so I built up a personal collection including antique furniture, wood carving, porcelain and embroidery pieces.”
“I thought it would be a wonderful idea to display all the objects and make a special place where I could retire and move all my collection. But then the idea grew to turn that into a small, special lodge to share with people like myself, who love travel to remote, fantastic landscapes.”
My urge has always been to travel, to record change – and the things which are disappearing