Early morning meditation on Mount Guogong by Xiao Xiao Xu

Chinese-born photographer Xiao Xiao Xu immigrated to the Netherlands at age 14 and only recently returned to the hometown she left a decade ago. Xu describes this town, Wenzhou, (also the name of the series), as a "very sentimental journey for me to rediscover my home, my childhood and my memories." Using photography—a medium she found as a way to express herself while searching for identity in the Netherlands—Xu captures a collection of portraits, interiors, and profiles of everyday objects in her native Wenzhou.

Together, the images form a humble large-scale portrait of a town that we are invited observe along with Xu as she rediscovers it herself. Two middle-aged men enjoy a cigarette break together, a young boy in school uniform stiffly holds his posture, and the crowded balconies of a skyrise residential building are murky but visible through the branches of a flowering tree. Xu suggests that her memory of her hometown is about the intimately commonplace—that to be in Wenzhou is to silently observe daily rhythms with the keen eye of someone native-born. Ten years spent away cannot remove the inevitable feeling that, for her, this is still home.

Many additional images from Wenzhou are available on Xu's website alongside several other projects. Next week I'll be looking at other young Chinese photographers whose work has caught our eye (including some of our very own Hot Shots and 20x200 artists), but we're also curious to hear of any projects coming-from or about China that have caught your eye. Please let us know!