American groom Bryan Shapiro carries his bride Wana Zhang during their traditional Chinese wedding ceremony in a restaurant on Huixin North street near the China Daily office in Beijing.[Photo by Akash Ghai/ China Daily]

Before coming to China whatever little I knew about the country came from my interaction with Chinese people abroad, news reports by foreign media and endless speculation. I always felt that the mainland was culturally similar to India, where I grew up, and radically different from the US, where I was born. I never expected to see a Tesla on the road or use Uber to get around the city, but as they say, anything is possible in China.

However, the media functions very differently here, and one of my first concerns was whether I'll be able to take pictures freely on the streets of Beijing. Will locals shoo me away? Would they want to be photographed by a stranger? Will the photos be compelling?