From the confused graduation trip to the resolute rush to the Great Wall runway, he walked for 6 years, took 400,000 photos, felt, recorded and transmitted the beauty of the Great Wall again and again, and wrote the story of him and the Great Wall, he is yang Dong, a photographer of the Great Wall after the 90s. Guided and planned by the Organization Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and produced by Beijing Radio and Television Station, the country's first documentary program focusing on talents, "Cheers for You", this week takes you closer to Yang Dong, a post-90s Great Wall photographer who measures the Great Wall with lenses and footsteps.
Get out of the confusion
Full of dreams and passion, he rushed to the Great Wall Runway
The Great Wall, a magnificent epic, a monumental work of mankind, the soul of China! Like a dragon, she stands in the east of the world and is the place where countless photography enthusiasts yearn. In spring, the Great Wall and the sea of flowers fall in love, the flowers bloom, picturesque; in autumn, the Great Wall is accompanied by late autumn, the mountains are red, and the layers of forests are dyed; in winter, the Great Wall dances with the light of the sun, the clouds cirrus clouds, and the momentum is magnificent. This is the Great Wall in Yang Dong's first album "Memory of the Great Wall of Beijing", he not only wants readers to see the magnificent scenery of the Great Wall, but also wants to let people understand the long history and culture of the Great Wall through this album.
Behind this beautiful album, there are countless hard work and efforts of Yang Dong. Rushing to the Great Wall runway again and again, starting before dawn, and taking the wrong road many times on the way, all of this is normal for Yang Dong. In his view, without these small episodes, the Great Wall of filming is imperfect, setbacks and bumps are all boosters on the road to dreams, and the same is true of the process of growing up. Seven years ago, Yang Dong, who graduated from accounting, stood at the crossroads of his life for the first time, and when his classmates came to ask him about his plans after graduation, he felt particularly confused and could not see the future direction. In order to complete the dream of graduation travel, in 2014, Yang Dong packed a bag and hitchhiked to Tibet, and then from Tibet to Xinjiang, during which he filmed the collection of "Backpack Trip in the Distance", which was quickly included after submitting it to China National Geographic. This is not only a recognition for Yang Dong, but also allows him to find the direction of life. He knew that as long as he insisted on this matter and worked hard to do it, he would definitely succeed.
In 2015, Yang Dong decided to systematically learn photography and met his first enlightenment teacher. In September of the same year, Yang Dong, who photographed the Great Wall for the first time and participated in a photo contest, tasted the joy of winning an award for the first time in his life, and also let him find the direction of specialization that his teacher said. Since then, Yang Dong has begun to exert his strength in Great Wall photography. In the past six years, he has not only accumulated a large number of works, but also been highly recognized by professional institutions. In March 2017, Yang Dong's photographic work "Great Wall Picture Scroll" won the first prize in the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Theme Photography Competition. In August 2017, "Arrow Buckle Great Wall Morning Rhyme" won the gold medal in the International Photography Competition in New York, USA. In August 2019, "Flying Snow on the Great Wall" was selected for the 12th China Arts Festival National Excellent Photography Exhibition. In December 2019, Yang Dong was selected as an outstanding talent in the Organization Department of the Dongcheng District Committee of Beijing.
Every trophy and every certificate is telling the story of Yang Dong and the Great Wall, and a photo also allows us to understand the history of the Great Wall more intuitively through the lens and feel the spirit of the Great Wall more intuitively.
No fear of wind and rain
Let the culture and spirit of the Great Wall be inherited
In six years, Yang Dong has photographed the spring, summer, autumn and winter of the Great Wall, photographed the proud independence of the Great Wall when the clouds are dense, photographed the pure and soft beauty of the Great Wall under the clouds and mist, and photographed the peace and tranquility of the Great Wall under the starry sky arch. However, behind every beautiful photo, there are those thrilling stories between him and the Great Wall.
At the end of 2018, Yang Dong determined the theme of the thirteen passes of the Great Wall and chose Jiayu Pass in Gansu. On the Gobi Desert of Jiayuguan, the wind blew like a knife, and his tablet was directly frozen to shutdown. However, in the face of the beautiful scenery of the sun shining from the west to Sekiga, he did not hesitate to pull open his storm jacket, put the tablet into his body, and covered the tablet for about 20 minutes before the tablet could be restarted, so he immediately installed a remote control and used the lens to photograph the beautiful scenery. His index finger was frostbitten during that shooting, but he did not regret it, but said happily, "Luck is often treasured in the next effort." ”
It is enough to see that photographing the Great Wall is not only a hard job, but also the thrills and challenges in it are everywhere. On the road to filming, Yang Dong encountered a car with a flat tire, and was almost hit by lightning, sometimes for a photo, he needs to carry a camera, drone, tripod and other things that add up to more than fifty pounds, and walk for several kilometers on a rugged and steep mountain road. But because of love, so insisted, day after day, year after year, Yang Dong did not feel a little bored, the same road, but can make him excited: "I feel that no matter how small I am, from the Great Wall I can draw endless strength." 」 ”
Perhaps because the arduous journey of shooting the Great Wall made Yang Dong feel something, yang Dong is not limited to shooting the scenery of the Great Wall, he turned the camera to the back of the Great Wall. In the album "Memories of the Great Wall of Beijing", Yang Dong not only wants everyone to see the majesty of the Great Wall, but also wants to let everyone see how generations of people are guarding the Great Wall in their own way. Recording the maintenance of the Great Wall and witnessing the ingenuity of the workers, the Great Wall is no longer an icy wall for Yang Dong, but an elder with a temperature and a story; today's Yang Dong is not only a photographer of the Great Wall, but also a researcher and protector of the Great Wall.
The inheritance and continuation of Chinese culture not only has the sweat and wisdom of craftsmen, but also needs the inheritance of youth and dreams. Only by persevering and feeling with heart can Chinese culture shine with the most brilliant light. This Thursday (September 24) at 09:05, Beijing Satellite TV's "Cheers for You" takes you closer to Yang Dong, a post-90s Great Wall photographer who measures the Great Wall with his lens and footsteps.