Focusing on wild beauty

He witnessed the steamy collision of heat emanating from mass hot springs against the freezing cold air on mountain peaks that are 5,200 meters above sea level.

As he ascended the glaciers, he came across huge green jade stones that took his breath away.

"It felt like I hit the jackpot, and I couldn't help but point my lens at it," he says.

The large herds of wild yaks, and wolves hungrily chasing after Tibetan antelopes, are also etched into Zhang's mind.

He has made more than 60 visits over the years to the plateau that covers the Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, as well as India, Nepal and Bhutan.

During those trips, Zhang has taken a wealth of pictures capturing thrilling elements of the plateau's nature, history, religion, culture, art and folk customs. All this enables the public to appreciate its charm.

"As a professional photographer who is engaged in visual creation, I consider the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau a holy land — one of dreams," Zhang says.

"I am deeply fascinated by the magical light and color that are in constant change, brought about by the fickle weather conditions, and it renders my photos with a mystical touch."

When he was photographing murals in Ngari prefecture, Tibet, the indoor lighting was very dim and there was no direct light source. He had to improvise.