9/9/6 ESCAPE

When Luojun Xucheng (25) looks into the future he sees the numbers 9/9/6. Work from nine in the morning until nine in the evening, six days a week. This is not the life he wants to live.

Luojun is an ordinary Chinese person. He grew up in the city and he is an only child. He wants a good job, a nice home, a girlfriend and a family – but he also wants free time, an opportunity to go to the gym after work and to relax during the weekend. To not have to go to pointless dinners with clients where alcohol is the social lubricant. 

China is one of the largest exporters of students abroad in the world. This number is steadily increasing. However, the way out can be demanding. Popular countries such as the USA, Australia and Canada require documented English skills. This is an area where the Chinese education system has failed. Luojun therefore spends more or less all his waking hours at a private school. He is preparing for the IELTS, an internationally recognised English qualification. A good grade on this test is Luojun’s ticket out of China. Despite the fact that the majority of Chinese students going abroad returns, he doesn’t think he will. 

– I think I can have a good future, I just have to find the way to get there.

Examination project spring 2017.

This photo series won 2nd prize in Portrait, Picture of the Year, Norway.