China. A Day in the Life of China. First printing.

Collins, 1989. David Cohen, Project Director. First edition, first printing. Folio. 220 pages. Ex-library, hard cover with protected dust jacket.   Previous dust jacket protector was taped to book and has been neatly removed, no labels or marks on dust jacket, which is fine. Rear flyleaf removed.  No library marks on book. Nearly 200 excellent color and black-and-white photos selected from nearly 140,000 taken on April 15, 1989.  Ninety international photographers include: Abbas; Bruno Barbey; Li Binbin; Marilyn Bridges; Rene Burri; Chen Changfen, Judi Cobb, Jay Dickman, David Goldberg, David Hume Kennerly; Mary Ellen Mark; Steve McCurry; Dilip Mehta, Robin Moyer; Graeme Outerbridge; Li Qianguang; Bill Pierce; Eli Reed; Sebastiao Salgado; Zhou Yi; Long Yunhe, et al. Summary:

A Day in the Life of China (1989) is a large‑format photographic documentary book edited by David Cohen that captures a vivid, panoramic portrait of the People’s Republic of China at a moment of dramatic social and political transition. Published in 1989, the book is part of the Day in the Life series and presents a compelling visual snapshot of everyday life across China as it existed on a single day — April 15, 1989.

📸 Concept and Structure

• The project brought together 90 of the world’s leading photojournalists — including Western and Chinese photographers — who fanned out across every province and autonomous region, from cities and towns to farmland and Tibet, to record what life looked like in China on that one day.

• The result is roughly 200 photographs in both color and black‑and‑white, accompanied by captions, brief notes, and maps that guide the reader through the diverse facets of Chinese society.

📍 Themes and Content

• The imagery covers a wide range of social environments and activities — from rice fields and factories to homes, schools, markets, and temples — showing how people lived, worked, and interacted.

• These photos portray both the timeless traditions and the modernizing forces shaping the country, revealing contrasts between ancient customs and emerging contemporary lifestyles. Readers see villagers planting crops, children at play, religious rituals, legal proceedings, and everyday work routines, giving a rich mosaic of Chinese life.

📘 Historical Context and Significance

• The date of the photographs, April 15, 1989, is historically noteworthy: it was the day that former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang died, an event that helped spark the student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square that would unfold over the following weeks. Although the book’s images do not focus on those protests, they conclude with a glimpse of protest posters at Beijing University, a poignant and ironic prelude to the tragic events that would soon follow.

• As a result, A Day in the Life of China serves both as an observational ethnographic record and a time capsule— capturing China at the cusp of significant political and social change, just before the Tiananmen crackdown later that spring.

📚 Overall Impression  

The book is not a linear narrative but a photo‑essay anthology, one where each image — ordinary or extraordinary — contributes to a broader understanding of a country undergoing rapid transformation. It highlights the diversity of China’s people and places, providing readers with a slice‑of‑life documentary that is both visually engaging and historically resonant.