The ruins of Beichuan, which was completely destructed in 2008 during the magnitude 8.0 earthquake, Sichuan, China. Now the abandoned city has been turned into one of the top tourist sites in this part of China. Flooded by tourist during daytime, the ruin left empty and unguarded at night. 15645 souls were lost in this town during the disaster. The deceased were either buried or remained laid under the wreckage, all within the town.
Jia Shuo, commonly known as Jason Jia, was born in 1988, Guangzhou, China.
Majoring in International Journalism at undergraduate school made him particularly interested in covering current affairs, and cultural and religious topics. His painting background in his earlier years has also encouraged him to tell stories via a visual medium.
An internship with the China News Service, the second largest news agency in China, polished Jason’s skills as a photojournalist, and his work has appeared in newspapers both nationwide and internationally.
His final year project for his BA degree, a story about Chinese veterans who fought in the Sino-Vietnamese conflict in 1979, made him shortlisted in the HouDengke Documentary Photography Grant.
After graduating with a BA International Journalism degree from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2011, Jason gave up an opportunity to be a staff photographer at a local newspaper. Instead, he decided to pursue an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London.
In the summer of 2012, Jason was honourably selected as this year’s recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Postgraduate Bursary. He was also one of the Ideas Fund Innovators winners, awarded by IdeasTap. With the support from RPS and IdeasTap, Jason started to work on an ongoing project about the Chinese Jewish community in Kaifeng, China, and their return to Israel after 1000 years of Diaspora.
Jason is currently working a photographer, based in Beijing, China.
Awards The winner of the Royal Photographic Society Postgraduate Bursary
The co-winner of the IdeasTap Fund Innovators
