Filling empty spaces with thousands of words

Public spaces are revealed through the lens of Candida Hofer. Photo provided to China Daily

Hofer, 71, visited Beijing for the first time in 1996, and has since returned to China on a number of occasions.

She took photos of different museums in Beijing in the '90s and shifted her focus to architecture.

A recent photo she took was of the Liyuan Library in a Beijing suburb. It is said to be one of the country's most beautiful libraries and is well-known for its special architectural design.

Each time she comes here, she notices change, says Hofer, who visited China three times this year.

The photographer will travel to Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai next month to catch more glimpses of the country.

"There are more new and experimental buildings designed by Western architects in China than in Europe," she says.

When Hofer studied at the German arts academy of Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, she first took pictures of people. Her series on Turkish workers in Germany earned her fame and got her noticed by her teachers at the academy.

But eventually she felt embarrassed to disturb the private lives of her subjects by going into their houses to take their photos. Hofer then shifted to taking images of public spaces.