CCTV
OUTLINE
CCTV are the initials which form the logo of China's Central Television, a network of 22 channels broadcasting 24 hours a day. It is also the acronym for Closed Circuit Television, a code name which used to be posted next to (no) vacancy signs outside motels on American roads in the 80s and 90s promoting the availability of porn films in the rooms. Today, it is associated with the increasingly large number of surveillance cameras installed on the streets of western capitals and more importantly, the ten million cameras monitoring China's 1.3 billion people.
Stepping down from your flight at Beijing's Capital Airport, your facial features are first captured, measured and recorded as an immigration officer scans your passport. A centralized network of over 10 million cameras using Facial recognition system will then track your every move until you check out at the end of your journey. CCTV cameras are on the streets, in elevators, lobbies, movie theaters, karaoke bars and on hundreds of battery operated drone helicopters silently hovering above China's megalopolis.
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BEIJING CAPITAL AIRPORT
Jouni's uptight expression matches the passport photo displayed next to the live capture of her face on a bulky screen as she stands at the immigration counter.
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THE OPPOSITE HOUSE HOTEL, BEIJING
Jouni pours cleansing lotion into her palm and gently applies it on her face to remove a layer of seamless asymmetrical make up...
...After a long shower, she wears a hooded sports suit and sneakers before exiting her room. A series of CCTV cameras alternate between her floor, to the elevator to the lobby, in showing her stretching without ever revealing her hooded face until she exits the hotel for a run.
3RD RING, BEIJING
Jouni jogs under the elevated 3rd Ring expressway leading to the the Central Business District...