City views in a wider lens

The numbers confirm

Tian Xianghe, 63, who lives in Wenjiang district in western Chengdu, began photographing the mountains years before Jia Nan.

His pursuit began by chance in 2008, when a snow-capped peak suddenly emerged through the clouds as he was photographing the cityscape. After consulting maps, he identified it as Mount Siguniang, more than 100 kilometers away.

"My eyes lit up. It was unbelievable," he says.

Capturing the peaks is a race against the weather. Tian checks weather apps in advance to gauge whether the following day will bring clear skies. He then prepares his equipment, charging batteries, readying memory cards, and setting alarms. An hour before dawn, he is already at his chosen vantage point, waiting.

But the effort does not always pay off. Wind, clouds and humidity — any one of them can spoil the shot. Tian has braved his share of wind and rain, but he doesn't consider the effort wasted.

"Capturing the place where I live alongside such beautiful mountains gives me a great sense of accomplishment," he says.

Like Jia Nan, Tian has noticed that the mountains are becoming visible more often.

"In summer, seeing them has become almost routine," he says.

"Even without professional gear, people can capture the peaks with their smartphones."

Zhang Wei, a 43-year-old chip engineer and amateur photographer, used systematic data to document the trend Jia Nan and Tian observed.

Since 2017, he has recorded sightings of the distant peaks and published an annual report on Jan 1. His findings show that the mountains were initially visible from Chengdu's central urban area on about 50 days a year. That figure rose to 81 days last year, the highest on record.

"We grew up reciting the famous line by poet Du Fu (712-770), 'My window frames the eternal snow of the western ridge', but few people realized that the scene he described was real," Zhang says.

"Even when photographs were shared, some meteorological experts thought they were fake."