The hidden story of China's Cultural Revolution

In 1967, people in the Songhua River commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mao’s swim in the Yangtze, which marked his return to power at the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution. Photos: Li Zhensheng/The Straits Times/Asia News Network

At the height of China’s bloody 10-year Cultural Revolution, when paranoia was at fever pitch and the ruling communists were purging the country of perceived traitors and spies, Chinese photographer Li Zhensheng did the unthinkable.

He was then working as an official photojournalist at a provincial newspaper and stashed in his drawer the negatives of shots which portrayed the harsh reality of the revolution, rather than disposing of them.