Muted Ember

Muted Ember is a project about the younger generations living in contemporary China who are facing challenges as the economy no longer seems able to deliver on the promise of a steadily better future. The project was shot in Yue’s hometown, Wuhai, in the province of Inner Mongolia in northern China. It is a small city built in the 1960s for coal mining and has thrived as a result. Now, as the coal resource is depleted, the city government is seeking to transition to a more tourism-based economy. Yue spent two years photographing the city’s outskirts, its failed tourism projects, and the people. Through the pictures, he hopes to convey a sense of uncertainty and change that youth face in their lives.