Zhang Xiao, the 11th recipient of the Peabody Museum’s Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography, brings us on a bilingual photographic exploration of the transformation of Shehuo, a traditional spring festival held in rural northern China that coincides with the New Year. When Zhang began his photography in 2008, Shehuo (社火, community fire) was celebrated with great regional variation, and included prayers for a good harvest and ritual performances of local folk tales. A decade later, he found that the festival—while still fascinating and visually engaging—had become a highly commercialized, tourist enterprise with mass-produced props and costumes.

Photo © Zhang Xiao