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Lu Guang (born in 1961) is an award-winning Chinese photojournalist.

Guang was born in the city of Yongkang in Zhejiang province. At age nineteen, in 1980, he encountered photography while working in a silk factory in Yongkang. In 1987, he ran his own photo studio for six years up until 1993. Later, he studied photography at The Fine Arts Academy of Beijing's Tsinghua University from 1993 to 1995 and has since worked as a freelance photographer. His work is focused on social, environmental, and economic issues.

Photography
Lu Guang’s work covers a wide range of consequences due to China’s rapid industrialization. A reoccurring theme is that of Cancer Villages in certain affected provinces, the negative environmental conditions (such as water pollution) causing these Cancer Villages and other related health issues, and the effect of industrialization on Chinese countrysides and its people. Guang has stated that his choice of subject in his photography is done to raise awareness in both China and on a global scale.

He has so far completed a handful of projects, a project on AIDS in the Chinese city of Henan, one entitled “Pollution in China,” the earlier mentioned “Gold Rush,” “Drug Girl,” and many others.

All of Guang’s projects, whether it be documentary or photo, are funded by himself—as he claimed in an interview.

Pollution in China
Guang’s photography project “Pollution in China,” winner of the W. Eugene Smith Grant, takes place over a variety of heavily polluted locations in China, consisting of thirty-five pictures in total.

Shanxi Province is the setting for a photograph within the series capturing severe birth defects present in the children living there, the province is also one of the most polluted areas in China. Shizuishan City in Ningxia Province captures a Shepherd on the banks of the yellow river. Beyond the Yellow River, he also documented pollution in the Yangtze River, the Qiantang River, all from the Industrial Districts leaking sewage. Heavy sewage and air pollution in Anyang City of Henan Province is shown negatively affecting the lives of the villagers.

Behind his “Pollution in China” project, Lu Guang states that the locations he chose to shoot from were suggested by friends.

Life
Guang grew up underneath Mao Zedong’s policies in the People’s Republic of China. At the age of fifteen, following Mao's death, China underwent economic change, the introduction of Western Industrialization entering the country.

During his years of study at Tsinghua University, he encountered Xie Hairong, another Chinese photographer whom he gained inspiration to become a photojournalist. His motivation became him wanting to change the perspectives of other people through his photography. His first documentary photography project was “Gold Rush in the West,” the two themes he focused on being economic struggle and environmental concerns. From then on, he decided documentary photography would be what he focused on.

Guang recognized that China could be a difficult place to report on social issues, however, despite this, Guang wanted to pursue his photography goals. As a result, he had been met with many attempts to stop his work, but nothing serious has occurred and he states that he will continue to take responsibility as a photographer to record, publish, and change China’s current state.

Awards
In 2003, Lu was awarded the first prize for a story about contemporary issues from World Press Photo for his photographs of Henan Province peasants who had been infected with HIV after selling their blood. In 2008, he was awarded Gruner + Jahr's Henri Nannen Prize for photojournalism. In 2009, he received the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his project "Pollution in China". In 2010, he received a National Geography Photograhy Grant. In 2013, he also received the Prince Claus award.