Seeing the wild side of life one frame at a time

The year began with a quiet milestone for Dong Lei, a photographer from Chengdu in Sichuan province; the publication of his new book, My Wildlife Circle of Friends.

He told China Daily that the seed for a photo book had been planted in 2014-15, initially conceived with the title Mountains of Southwest China Through the Eyes of a Nature Photographer. In 2017-18, he frequently ventured deep into the Gaoligong Mountains in Yunnan province, documenting the elusive pheasant, Sclater's monal. He spent weeks in isolated wilderness. During downtime, or on rainy days when leaving camp was impossible, he began to create the book and later completed a first draft.

Eventually, a publisher expressed interest. The working title shifted to China's National Parks (Southwest Chapter)Through the Eyes of a Nature Photographer, with 10 chapters on key species distributed across 10 national parks of Southwest China.

However, with only five national parks being officially established so far and only two falling within his reach, the publisher had to rethink the marketing strategy. The title was changed to appeal to a younger audience. "The cover design is more cartoonish, but the content inside remains largely the same," Dong said.

The book is a collection of his works from 2006 to the spring of 2025, when he photographed the rare Himalayan red panda in the Xizang autonomous region."The book contains the highlights of my 20 years of wildlife photography," Dong said.

Li Binbin, an associate professor of environmental sciences at Duke Kunshan University in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, wrote in the book's foreword: "With rapidly evolving imaging technology and readily accessible information, capturing beautiful nature images seems less daunting than before. However, the ability to relentlessly seek out uncharted territories in nature photography, to document and disseminate the biodiversity of China's vast land, and to use imagery to raise awareness of nature conservation — that's where people like Dong Lei are truly rare."