No.16, Barkor Street is an old courtyard in the heart of Lhasa and the site of the office of the Barkor Neighborhood Committee. This masterful cinema verité documentary, the landmark work in the history of independent documentaries about Tibet, is a photographic study of the basic workings of government in Tibet that follows the local Party Secretary, Deputy Director, Director for Women's Affairs, and Community Policeman, among others, as they implement official policies and manage neighborhood affairs.

Duan Jinchuan was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China in 1962. After graduating from Beijing Broadcasting Institute in 1984, he worked at Tibet TV Station. In 1992, he returned to Beijing and became an independent documentary filmmaker.

The Barkhor Street is a street surrounding the Jokhang Monastery. All the people regard it as the center of Lhasa. It is not only secular, but also religious. But people seldom realize that old courtyards, alleys paved with rock, newly built Tibetan style hous-es and shopping centers in the Barkhor Street are under the influence of politics.

The Barkhor Street Neighborhood Committee is the most basic unit of the Party and government here. The main responsibility of the committee is to implement governmental policies, measures and directions. With the help of such basic units, the governments at all levels manage the Barkhor Street, as well as the whole society effectively.

The documentaries we made 10 years ago attracted no attention at the time, but over the years, they have become more and more influential, and more and more people have seen them. I think this is a just part of the development of documentary film in China.

Mostly, our films influence a small group of people, such as intellectuals who share the same interests as us. But we have also discovered a devious road. That is, our documentaries can influence members of the official media. We are members of the avant-garde, post-1989 movement of documentary makers.

Although our independent films are not released publicly, they have a large influence among others in the media industry. This is an indirect effect.

Unlike America and other Western countries, we've found that the reality of Chinese history is completely different from what we learned in school. So we feel we have a responsibility to convey reality.

- Duan Jinchuan