Poetry in flight

"It's amazing! The poets of ancient China could not have flown to such heights, and yet they wrote poems that perfectly illustrated the magnificence of nature," says Ma.

In early February, the 35-year-old won first place in the Chinese Poetry Conference, a popular poetry-themed quiz show jointly launched by the China Media Group and the Ministry of Education and broadcast nationwide.

This is the second time he has participated in the show as a contestant since 2019.

For Ma, classical poetry, which has accompanied him since his childhood, is the most beautiful language in the world.

"I like reading poetry in my spare time. Once I pick up a book of poetry, I can't put it down — it's a bit like those who can't stop scrolling through short videos on social media these days," says Ma.

"I don't have short-video apps installed on my phone. I'm all about poetry."

Ma was born in 1988 in rural Pizhou, East China's Jiangsu province. His father, who struggled to feed the family through farming and fishing, used to paint on the white walls of their house and write poems to match the paintings.