WEAVED IN SILK
(2020 - ongoing)

“Weaved in Silk” is exploring the socio-economic transformation unfolding in Laos, a landlocked, communist country in mainland Southeast-Asia. Laos is rapidly shifting from a traditional agrarian society to a modern economy. This transformation is heavily influenced by China, which views resource-rich, low-income Laos as an ideal partner to expand its economic reach across the region.

Since moving to Laos in 2017 to work as a geography researcher, I’ve been living in the country and closely witnessing its changes. Over time, my fascination with Laos’s transition only deepened, leading me to leave my full-time research job in 2020 to tell this story through photography.

“Weaved in Silk” is the result of countless trips across the country, using the newly constructed Lao-China Railway as a central theme. Opened in 2021, this railway is the first ever built in Laos and links Vientiane, the capital, with Boten, a mountainous town on the Chinese border that serves as China’s gateway to Southeast-Asia.

The photographs depict everyday scenes within a changing landscape, revealing the contrast between traditional ways of life and the uncertain future, shaped by economic ambition and filled with promises of prosperity, connectivity and modernity- where Laos is heading, only time will tell.

One of the border checkposts in Boten during the Covid period, when the movement of people to and from China was limited. Laos, November 2020.

A couple stares at the artificial lake within the That Luang Lake Specific Economic Zone in Vientiane Capital on their wedding day. In the last few years, the lakeside has become a popular spot for wedding photo shoots. The SEZ, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), develops on a wetland area known as That Luang Marsh, a complex social and ecological landscape that provides the city with important hydrological functions. Expected to bring economic growth, job opportunities and new infrastructures, the SEZ yet resembles a futuristic ghost town within a construction site. The construction of these facilities, clearly targeting high income locals and foreigners, has been transformative for the complex ecologies of the wetland and the livelihoods of residents that depend upon them. Laos, February 2022.

The construction of Boten train station 2Km south of the city. The train station part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was officially inaugurated in December 2021. Coming from China, Boten is the first railway stop in Laos, thus destined to become an important logistical and economic hub. What was a rural village counting a few thousand inhabitants less than twenty years ago, is today the Chinese's gateway to Laos and South-east Asia. Laos, February 2021.

People gathering around the That Luang Stupa in Vientiane during the That Luang Festival. Laos, November 2022.

A view of the high-rise condominiums and hotels inside the That Luang Lake Specific Economic Zone in Vientiane Capital. Although most of the buildings are still empty, this is expected to change soon. Thanks to a 2019 amendment to the Land Law, foreigners are now able to own non-landed property in Laos. Laos, April 2020.

A farmer and his cattle at the boundaries of the That Luang Lake SEZ. Vientiane Capital, Laos. February 2022.

View of upland fields devoted to the cultivation of rainfed rice. A typical landscape found in the hills of northern Laos. Shifting cultivation is the dominant cropping system in the uplands of Laos. It is an agricultural practice that consists in cutting trees and shrubbery, burning it and letting it rest for a period long enough for the vegetation to recover. The land is then generally cleared and used for growing rice crops. Often appointed as one of the causes of deforestation, shifting cultivation is an ancestral cultivation practice that still persist in Laos, despite government programs aimed at its eradication. Huaphan Province, Laos. November 2020.

Villagers collecting rice straw by the roadside in Luang Namtha Province. Laos, November 2020.

A farmer sells its cassava harvest at a processing factory by the roadside in Luang Prabang Province. Cassava cultivation experienced a boom in Laos over the last years and it became one of the major cash crops in the country. Cassava is mainly exported to China. Laos, January 2023.

The Lane Xang Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train approaching Luang Prabang train station. Inaugurated on December 4th 2021, the 414-kilometer single-gauge railway track from Vientiane to Boten includes 61 kilometers of bridges and 198 kilometers of tunnels. Laos, May 2023.

A portrait of Kaysone Phomvihane inside a village hall in Vientiane. Kaysone was the leader of the Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955 until his death in 1992. Vientiane Capital, Laos. May 2021.

A farmer harvested vegetables in her field located in the sourrounding of the Hongsa Coal-fired Power Plant. The plant is the largest coal-burning electrical plant in Laos. Located in Hongsa district of Xayaboury province the project is developed by two Thai energy firms and it comprises a 60-square-kilometers open-pit lignite mine, a limestone mine, a dam and a reservoir, a power plant and a transmission line. The coal plant generates 1878 MW in total. Under the agreement, 1,473 MW of electricity will be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) at the Thai-Lao border for a period of 25 years, while the remainder will be consumed locally. Laos. November 2024.

Construction of the Nam Ou 1 hydroelectric dam on the Ou River in Luang Prabang Province. Nam Ou 1 hydroelectric dam is the southernmost of a seven-dam cascade project developed by China Sinohydro Corporation on the Ou River, which spans for 450 km before meeting the Mekong in the North-East of the city of Luang Prabang. With more than 50 operational hydropower projects and some 100 projects planned or at construction phase, Laos is referred to as the “battery of ASEAN”. Generally, only 10-15% of the electricity produced by large dams stays within the country, the remaining is exported to neighboring states while the Government of Laos benefits through royalties and taxes. However, energy supply and related economic interests of hydropower are in conflict with its social and environmental impacts. Laos, November 2018.

A Lao construction worker employed by a Chinese construction company inside his room in Boten. Daily wages for construction workers can be significantly higher in Boten compared to the rest of the country. Laos, May 2023.

A sign at a Chinese construction site inside That Luang Specific Economic Zone. The developer plans to expand the amenities within the zone by attracting other investors to build shopping centers, hotels, business towers, and residential areas. Vientiane Capital, Laos. May 2021.

A house to be soon tore down to make space for a road meant to connect the That Luang Lake Specific Economic Zone to the city periphery in Vientiane Capital. Land adjacent to planned infrastructure sites, as the Lao-China Railway and the Lao-China Highway, is often expropriated from land users at low compensation rates and then sold on the private market at inflated prices to pay for the cost of the infrastructure project. In this model, the government uses the land to generate revenue, which could pay for infrastructural development. Laos, March 2021.

Kids fishing in a waterstream below one of the Lao China Railway's bridges in Luang Namtha Province. Laos, December 2024.

Primary forest in the Nam Ha National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Luang Namtha Province. Laos, November 2020.

Flooded area by National Road 13 a few kilometers upstream Nam Ou 1 hydroelectric dam in Luang Prabang Province. Nam Ou 1 hydroelectric dam is the southernmost of a seven-dam cascade project developed by China Sinohydro Corporation on the Ou River, which spans for 450 km before meeting the Mekong in the North-East of the city of Luang Prabang. Excessive hydropower development can have critical consequences in Laos, because large parts of the total population rely on the river system for their food and livelihoods. Dams can permanently change a river ecosystem, and have significant negative impact on fisheries and riverbank agriculture, hampering the livelihoods and food security of project-affected communities. Laos, February 2021.

A bamboo forest painted over a shower curtain in the bathroom of a Chinese own hotel room in Boten. The zone is often marketed simultaneously as a place of pristine nature and as global city. The opacity of the glass and the wear of the curtain give a nostalgic tone to the nature depicted. Laos, May 2023.

A fisherman cleans his nets after fishing at one of the Nam Theun 2 reservoir’s ponds. Nakai, Khammuane Province, Laos. February 2021.

A match of Kataw (footvolley) by the sideroad of National Road 13 North in Vang Vieng District. National Road 13 North is the main road in the country, connecting Boten, at the Chinese Border, to Vientiane Capital on the shores of the Mekong River. Laos, October 2019.

Chinese tourist from Beijing swimming at Khuang Si waterfall outside the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, the main tourist destination in Laos. The number of Chinese and Thai tourists visiting Luang Prabang has increased significantly after the opening of the Lao-China Railway in December 2021. Laos, December 2024.

The interior of a restaurant in the Xang Jieng Market area, often referred as Chinese Market, in Vientiane Capital. Laos, May 2023.

WEAVED IN SILK (2020 - ongoing)

WEAVED IN SILK
(2020 - ongoing)