Wonder Wall

Yang's love affair with the camera began when he received one as a gift from his parents. Although he had majored in accounting when he was at Yangtze University in Jingzhou, Hubei province, he never stopped pursuing his passion for photography and travel.

In the summer of 2015, Yang visited the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall in Hebei province. It was the first time he had taken photos of the Great Wall－with the effort garnering him a top accolade.

To capture his photo of the Jinshanling section in the clouds, Yang made two dozen visits before he finally framed an image that satisfied him.

In May 2016, while taking photos at Jinshanling, Yang noticed how the pattern of the moving clouds resembled smoke, as if from a beacon fire during some long-forgotten war.

"The scene transported me to an ancient battlefield, and I immediately started running to find the best angle of the clouds and the beacon tower to capture that moment," he recalls.

"The Great Wall is about nature, as well as the architecture. There is a spirit of the Great Wall and my love for that is presented in my photos," Yang says. After learning more about the Great Wall and communicating with specialists who have devoted themselves to studying and protecting the ancient edifice, he says he now has a better understanding of it. "The Great Wall has provided me spiritual sustenance, knowledge and willpower."

The Great Wall at night is another favorite for Yang to capture. Each year from March to June, part of the Milky Way is clearly visible, and Yang patiently waits until it moves to the right place in the night sky－above the watchtower on top of the mountain－then he presses the shutter.

"Night on the Great Wall is often so dark that I can't see my fingers," Yang says, adding that he usually sleeps in a tent inside one of the watchtowers.

Yang says he is either at the Great Wall taking photos or on the way to it, with the tough climb to and from the remnants never stopping him.