'On the vast territory of China, the mileage of the railroads add up to more than 60,000 kilometers. But when breaking the mileage down into a per capita figure, it is only as long as a cigarette. The Chinese railroads used to have the unbearable task of transporting more than 1 billion people a year, which made buying tickets and riding the train an awful experience ... In this small, teeming society on the train, one might encounter all kinds of people and things. The Chinese people traveling on trains have recorded this unforgettable history of the railway system with their own experiences at the end of the century.'

Wang Fuchun spent decades recording all sorts of unique moments on trains to create the body of work Chinese on the Train. He travelled as far north as Mohe in Heilongjiang Province, as far south as Guangzhou, as far west as Golmud, and as far east as Shanghai; travelling over 100 thousand miles, to produce nearly 10 thousand rolls of films, which traced people's lives on their journeys. Chinese on the Train becomes a metaphor for a transient and congested China where every passenger has to apply willpower and determination to complete their journey.

Wang Fuchun, born in 1943 in Heilongjiang Province (China), graduated from the photography department in Harbin Normal University. He was a photographer and editor of Scientific Research Institute of Harbin Railway Bureau as well as a member of Worldwide Ethnic Chinese Photographers, a member of the Chinese Photographers Association and vice chairman of Harbin Photographers Association. Wang won the award "outstanding Chinese photographer" at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in 2004.

Exhibition courtesy of 798 Photo Gallery, Beijing