Sleeping Chinese

I took most of these (and many other) photos of sleeping Chinese in Beijing in the early 1990s, when the call of the midday-nap seemed to bring all social life to a standstill. From noon to two or three PM, everybody seemed to retire to "rest," one of the many euphemisms for "sleep." Most people returned home for lunch and a nap in the privacy of their own quarters, but others, often lower on the social ladder, had to make do with less cozy sleeping conditions in public. I soon started spending my early afternoon hours on my bicycle, looking out for picturesque sleepers and often also taking their photos—not without scruples, I must admit, because I was clearly aware that I was benefitting from these sleepers' vulnerability: had they been awake, I myself would certainly not have dared to stare at them so unabashedly, and they might well have shooed me away.