A monument depicting a soldier holding a rifle and bayonet.

People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

By Howard Mitchell

I’m lucky enough to be able to spend a couple of months in Chengdu, China each year as part of my job and usually stay in the central part of town. I take a different film camera with me each time. Previously I’ve used the Olympus OM10, Minolta X700 and OM2sp; all have performed flawlessly and given some great photos but, especially with extra lenses, were heavy and bulky. I graduated to rangefinders such as the Olympus 35RC, Vivitar 35es and Ricoh 500g. Again, all produced good results but I needed big pockets – the lenses meant they were a pain to get out of a pair of Levis – and time to focus. I wanted something more svelte and immediate so this time plumped for the little Olympus XA3.

This article isn’t a review of the XA3; there are plenty of articles on the camera and its siblings already but I’ll add my thoughts on it from a user experience as a travel point and shoot at the end.

Parks in China are designed and used very differently to those in the UK. In this country, parks tend to be large open areas for recreation, (playing football and walking the dog) mostly untended and with rusting, vandalised play areas and a drab ice-cream pavilion or café if you are lucky.

China’s parks on the other hand are more eclectic. In huge, densely populated megacities they are seen and used more as a community resource and a place for families, couples and individuals to relax and escape urban bustle. The parks are maintained and well-kept, the environment and landscaping are i more varied, often with water features, and most have one or more teahouses. Many larger parks are walled with gates and have set opening and closing times, some even charge a small entrance fee.

In Chengdu, Peoples Park (aka Renmin Park) is no exception. Open from around 7am to 10pm and illuminated at night it’s a big green space situated right in the centre and is one of the oldest parks in the city. It’s a little world of its own; a microcosm of laid-back Chengdu lifestyle tucked away in the centre of a city of 20 million plus people. It’s a popular place for both locals and visitors to the city, containing among other things, monuments, flower and bonsai gardens, rock formations, tea houses and a boating lake. Inside, people pass the time ambling around, chatting, exercising, dancing, sipping tea, playing cards, chess or mahjong and generally just doing their own thing.

I woke early one Sunday morning and decided to go there first thing while it was still quiet. I’d been there several times before to while away the time and people watch, usually with my OMD EM10ii. This time I decided to take the XA3 with me and loaded it with 3 year expired Rollei RPX400. I chose the ASA as the weather is generally dull and grey and the XA3 lens only f3.5.

The film was processed and scanned locally as BMP files for a 40 Chinese Yuan price… About £4.50. The results are below, SooC with no editing at all.
The photos are very grainy and contrasty but I like the effect – quite gritty and realistic for street style shots. I later asked the guy in the shop what developer he used. He showed me a bottle labelled ‘Kermel’, which I’d never heard of.

A row of shopfronts opening onto a covered pavement. There are shop staff and shoppers.
As I walked towards the South Gate, the city was already preparing for the day and the local shops were opening up.
two women sat preparing vegetables.
Fruit and veg being trimmed.
A man sitting with his back to camera making steamed buns.
Steamed bun preparation under way.
food vendors stall alongside silver containers which are steaming food.
… and steaming
A view down one of the park's pedestrian avenues.
Even before 9am, the park is beginning to fill with locals and Chinese weekend tourists from other provinces. The trees keep the avenues nicely shaded and cool.
Three old people sat chatting in a pagoda.
Space for a chat in the shade in one of the little pagodas which are spread around.
A woman sat making shapes with melted caramel.
Making shapes with melted caramel.
A woman standing on a path, exercising.
Chilling out and doing her own thing.
A man and a woman reading notices
Checking out the talent. I’m not sure what to call this area. It’s basically parents offering their kids up for marriage. The notices contain bios of the children and requirements for potential suitors, a peculiarly Chinese phenomenon. In many cases, the kids are happily single and totally unaware mum and dad are doing this. The notices extend well beyond the photo.. Naturally those for girls are pink, boys blue.
A group of people exercising below a tall, thin tower.
Morning exercise under the Railway Protection Movement Monument (bushes stopped me moving further back. Where’s the zoom out when you need it?)
People sat around bamboo tables talking and drinking tea.
The main teahouse. Plenty of space to sit around, sip tea and relax.
A path through a park with people walking along it and lanterns above.
Outside the teahouse, lots of lanterns over the path.
A curved Chinese style bridge over a stretch of water.
A bridge over one of the streams feeding the lake.
A group of women chatting in the shade of a wall
More places to chat and relax.
An open space with many people, some of whom are dancing.
Beyond the wall, a square and dancing.
A man dressed in white doing Tai Chi.
Early morning Tai Chi
An ornamental space containing flowers and panda figures.
Don’t forget, Chengdu is the hometown of Pandas.
A girl looking at 3 statues representing military figures.
I can’t remember what these represent but she’s fascinated.
A close up of 5 children posing for the camera.
Before leaving, I was waylaid by a bunch of local schoolkids doing a survey and who wanted to practise their English.
Two women wearing white engaged in mock ritual swordplay.
And on the way to the exit, some swordplay …
A man wearing white doing Tai Chi.
And in the square just before the exit, …..more Tai Chi.

Oh, The Camera? What I liked. It slips easily into a small pocket and the clamshell cover protects the lens and locks the shutter. Wind it on in advance, open the cover and it’s ready to go immediately as a point and shoot. It’s perfect for candid street photography. Quiet, no-fuss and not intrusive.

What bugged me a little … No AE lock. Not such a big deal but would be useful in high contrast situations. No exposure control apart from the +1.5 switch for backlit subjects although this could be overridden by taping over the DX marks on the film canister and using the ASA setting. It’s small. When winding on, I had to constantly move my fingers to stop them interfering with the moving rewind dial. I found the distance setting counter intuitive. To focus closer, you push a lever away from you; to focus on infinity, you move the lever towards you. Maybe it’s my example but I had a few framing issues. The viewfinder frame marks and the lens are not perfectly aligned, which meant a few fails in my attempts at symmetry.

And finally, Chengdu is a great place. A relaxed, laid-back, cosmopolitan, forward thinking city with pandas and amazing spicy cuisine. It’s well worth a visit.

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About The Author

By Howard Mitchell
A hobbyist photographer whose interest in film was first triggered by an old Zenit while at university and more recently by the acquisition of cameras I lusted after as a youth but couldn't afford. Current photo output seems to be long periods of idleness and inactivity interrupted by occasional bursts of inspiration and creativity. Social media recluse.
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Comments

Kevin on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

Great images. Film photography has some lessons for digital photographers, or at least, this digital photographer. The first picture of South Gate, which I really like, has blown out highlights and deep shadows. If I was taking that image on a digital camera, the camera would be blinking like crazy telling me what I was doing wrong. And I would be doing my best to comply with the camera's demands. In the end. I would produce a nicely balanced picture with nothing too bright and nothing too dark. Or I would give up because the camera sensor could not accommodate the deep shadow and super bright highlights and obviously there was no way to take the image. I recently learned to turn off all those warnings and to make a counscious decision as to what subject to expose correctly and what to let to go to featureless white or black. Film just let's you take the image however you want. And it is up to the imagination, skill and knowledge of the photographer to manage the limits of the medium - and use those limits for artistic effect. Such as at the South Gate.
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

Thanks for the positive comments Kevin and I agree with you on the difficulties of how to expose really contrasty scenes. I've experienced exactly the same issues with digital cameras in China. Narrow dark streets; bright blue sky; what to meter for? In this case, I have very little control over the exposure. The auto point and shoot makes the decisions for me so the South Gate pic is perhaps more a testament to the quality of the camera rather than my skills.

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Geoff Chaplin on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

Thanks, an excellent photo tour, it looks very friendly and welcoming and made me want to go! How's your Mandarin, or do you cope with just English?
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

My Mandarin is pretty much non existent but the people are really helpful on the whole . I have a couple of translation apps on my phone, as do most Chinese, and get by using those. I have no problems travelling around. I'd certainly recommend a visit to China if you get the chance; lots of photo opportunities.

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Tony Warren on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

What a fantastic place - and well recorded. Your lab is something else too. The quality you show here, untouched as you say, and are as good as you could ever want. Great story.
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 07/11/2024

Thanks Tony. There are so many different parks in the city, each with their own character. I'm glad the photos can give a good impression of this one

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Roger on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 08/11/2024

Great photos that really capture the atmosphere of the park. You remind me of my regret when I got rid of an XA series camera many years ago.
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 08/11/2024

Thanks. I was pleased with the way these photos came out. The XA is a lovely little camera, slips into a pocket and the lens is pretty good considering its size. I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon.

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Michael McCulloch on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 08/11/2024

Lovely photos. They give a great tour of the park. I have been there many times and love it. I've not been able to document it as well as you though.

Never thought about getting film developed locally - will give that a go next time I visit Chengdu; they did a good job!
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 08/11/2024

It took me a while but there are a couple of places I've found in Chengdu that will process film. My preference is to do it here rather than put the film through a series of airport scanners.

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Simon on People’s Park Chengdu with an Olympus XA3 and expired Rollei RPX 400

Comment posted: 09/11/2024

These images show that in the right hands a relatively simple camera can record some great images. That modest 35mm f3.5 lens seems very capable. And you appear to have captured a good variety of subjects too. Nice work Howard, thanks for sharing them.
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Howard Mitchell replied:

Comment posted: 09/11/2024

Thanks for your comments Simon. It was one of those days when I felt inspired and just wanted to go out and fire off a roll of film. Apologies for the late reply. I'm in China now and my internet is intermittent to say the least.

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