Li Xinzhao | Through The Unknown Tashkurgan

I had never heard of Tashkurgan. You probably haven't either.

It turns out that it's an area on China's western frontier (Xinjiang Province), located in the eastern part of the Pamirs and on the so-called "roof of the world", and it has a long history as a caravan stop on the Silk Road. In the Uyghur language, tash kurgan means 'stone fortress'.

Li Xinzhao is a fine art photographer, who documented the inhabitants and way of life of the region since 2009. She stayed in Tashkurgan for several months photographing the Tajik nomads using a Hasselbald large-format digital camera and Profoto lighting. Being driven in an old pickup truck by a Tajik driver, she traveled the sparsely populated landscape searching for the nomads, staying with local families along the way.

She studied at the University of the Arts London, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the International Center of Photography in New York, and began her photography career in 2007. Since then, she has completed projects in England, United States, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, Tunisia, Kenya and others. She has won a number of awards and contests.

Photo © Li Xinzhao-All Rights Reserved

You can also watch the above video on Vimeo. It's posted by Photographie.