In 1976, when news of the death of the Chinese leader Mao was released, the elementary school Wang Tong attended immediately began with memorial ceremonies. After seeing a tear on his teacher's face, Wang Tong himself cried uncontrollably. His grief was honest, he says now, although the result of indoctrination. Years later, when he saw a weathered portrait of Mao on a wall, the scene came back to his mind. Wang Tong decided to document the public worship of the Great Leader, so inseparable from his boyhood and China. It appeared to be a race against the clock, as the portraits were increasingly disappearing before rising modernity. After nine years Wang Tong called a halt to his project; he had had enough, and acknowledged that the future had indeed arrived.

Wang Tong (b. 1967, China) began photographing in 1989. He is presently editor in chief of the Chinese photographic monthly Chinese Geography.