free entry
Plan Your VisitIn 1979 a small group of New Zealanders were given a unique opportunity to see and experience a China that was then unknown to most foreigners. They were invited to travel through China to visit the locations and to record the life story of a remarkable New Zealander and great friend of China – Rewi Alley (路易•艾黎).
Alley had firmly established himself as one of a small group of foreigners who had fully earned the respect of the people of China and its Government and the New Zealand team were to make a documentary which celebrated his incredible life and bring the story to prime time television audiences.
The documentary was made and directed by Geoff Steven and the Alley connection gave him and his team access to places and situations not visited by Western media.
As well as being the team leader, Geoff had been a professional photographer and he took his 35mm camera equipment along with him on this remarkable journey.
The Kiwi crew travelled through China for nearly three months and covered over 10,000 kilometres following Rewi’s story from the Eastern coast to the Gobi desert; from the gorges of the Yangtze River to the steppes of Inner Mongolia, and from small country villages to the streets of Beijing.
During this trip Geoff and his team visited factories; farms; schools; hospitals and even spent time in a People’s Liberation Army training camp. Geoff photographed all these places and returned to NZ with a collection of over 500 images. They represent a record of China at the very moment that it was starting the push to modernise its economy and reach out to meet the world.
Now, it is Geoff’s wish to bring this remarkable and largely unseen photography collection to both the New Zealand and Chinese public. The pictures give a unique glimpse of Chinese life at that time and capture a largely unseen and undocumented period of China's recent history.
They capture the character and strength of the Chinese people as they began the great task of modernising their economy and reaching out into the wider world.
View the documentary
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/gung-ho---rewi-alley-of-china-1979
Image: Factory Militia Members - China 1979, Geoff Steven.