Magnum Editions: 6:30 a.m., Chang An Avenue. Beijing, China. 1978

Inge Morath and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, were invited to travel to China in 1978, only two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution. It was the first of several journeys for Morath, as she returned in both 1979 and 1983. The photographs made in China during her numerous visits—previously referred to as some of her best-known images—present a cultural dialogue between tradition and modernity, in what Arthur Miller described as “China’s contradiction” at the end of the 70s. This image was taken at 6.30 a.m on West Chang An Avenue, a busy street from early morning to late at night.