Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

Individually, each of Wang's narratives features a piece of a private life. Together they project a larger picture about the political and economic landscape of rural China in those years.

Presented in the book along with the photographers’ narratives are 370 pictures, showing the hand-painted backdrops, props and lights that the rural photo studios used.

Wang Huaiming, a 75 year old photographer from Anhui, recalls the heartbreaking scene he witnessed in Lixin county during the famine of early 1960s.

One day in 1961, he went to take pictures of 6th graders in Zhuzhai village. Inside some of the peasants’ houses were "bodies of the starved without anyone to carry them away. In some households, whole families perished from hunger."

Despite their grave circumstances, he recalls, people wanted their picture taken. "Most photos were for certificates or meetings. Not for enjoyment. So, being a photographer, I had work every day."

When Dong Biwu, then country’s acting president, came to look into the famine situation in Linquan county, Wang Huaiming was immediately assigned to take pictures. "Why me? Because I’m a party member and was young."