2009 - 2010 / Qi Lihe sits on the outskirts of Lanzhou, a heavily polluted industrial city in Northwestern China. It is home to thousands of migrant families who have left their homeland within the Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, in search of job opportunities and ultimately, a better life. For hundreds of years, the Hui and Dongxiang Muslim minorities have farmed the arid land surrounding their ancestral villages. However, desertification has deeply affected the land and life has become too difficult for many. Necessitating those who can, to migrate to the provincial capital in order to survive.
