Explorer with a lens captures China's unique history

The Great Wall: From Beginning to End (Sterling, 2007)

This is a collaboration between Yamashita and William Lindesay. Lindesay has trekked the Wall's entire length and spearheads the movement to preserve it. Yamashita spent a year shooting the Wall, its environs and the people who live in its shadow. The book provides an overview that debunks myths and dishes up rare facts and figures. It's a comprehensive history that proceeds dynasty by dynasty through the Wall's construction in a narrative arc infused with Lindesay's personal experiences on the bulwark.

Shangri-La: Along the Tea Road to Lhasa (White Star; English in 2012, Chinese in 2013)

Chama Gudao, or the Tea-Horse Road, is a circuitous route from Yunnan province to Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. Actually a network of roads, trails and highways - rather than one distinct course - was blazed for ancient trade between the Chinese military, who needed strong horses, and the Tibetans, who craved tea. This trade flourished from the 7th century until the 1950s. The way has gradually been paved. Yamashita travels the ancient route to explore tea cultivation and Tibetan culture before they were transformed by modernization.