A photograph by Lan Zhigui that features Sothan, a serf, carrying a Land Sign pole after receiving his own land, following Tibet’s democratic reform in the mid-twentieth century. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]

An award-winning photographer born in neighboring Sichuan province, Lan was one of the first photographers who pioneered into the southwest region of China early in the 1950s, recording with his camera the significant changes it went through over the following two decades.