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Like many who only knew China from news reports, Texan Kyle Obermann's impression of China was bad air and tense urban life. But not any more after he arrived in China five years ago and managed to get out of megacities. Here, a new world opens up. Now an environmental photographer based in the Chinese city of Chengdu, Kyle is determined to tell China as it is to him, the great beauty of the vast wilderness.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Obermann had returned to his hometown in Austin. "I never thought that at 28 I would move back in with my parents", as he told CGTN Host Tian Wei during a recent interview. But he is still engaged with the Chinese mountains he had become infatuated with half a globe away: editing images, writing articles, painting maps, even inviting Tian Wei to join an exploration in the deep mountains when he returns to China.
From the Tibetan plateaus to the Sichuanese woods where wild pandas reside, Kyle Obermann's photographs capture the wide range of landscapes China offers, a side of the country he believes is not known to many. In his Instagram bio, it says "Follow to see protect China's wild." The 28-year-old American said he has made it a mission of him to tell the story of China's wild side, an idea of "storytelling justice."
The explorer's first major hike in China was in the Gongga Mountain, the highest peak in southwest China's Sichuan Province. That was when he was still a student at Peking University, and the trip came at the courtesy of a very understanding teacher, who allowed him to skip class for the adventure.
"I only thought that China was Beijing", said Obermann, "when in reality at least half of China is very, very wild, very little people living in it."
China's wilderness is not that far even from the big cities. Just outside of Beijing, for example, Obermann said, the mountains are already home to North China Leopards. They have not been spotted for years, but there are people who are working to restore their natural habitats.
Obermann thinks the wonders of China's wilderness and the people who are protecting these places is an incredibly valuable story that need to be told more. He is keen to do it starting by finding them, and then photographing them.
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Along his journeys, Obermann has been moved by numerous local people with their dedication to protect the great nature in China. One of those unsung heroes was a Tibetan man named Pachu living in the city of Kangding.
As the manager of a hostel, Pachu uses part of the profits from the business to build basic stone trash collection pits on the campsites around hiking trails in the region, and funds trips for people who ride on horses to collect trash, which are then shipped in truckloads to be disposed.
Obermann himself has made some news in China when photos of the trash he picked up during a marathon run in the Gongga Mountain got circulated on social media. Obermann says he wants to show to people how easy it is to pick up the trash and encourage more to do it, and that enjoying the outdoor beauty is a privilege that comes with responsibility.
World Insight with Tian Weiis an international platform for debate and intelligent discussion. It is the meeting point of both the highly influential and rising voices, facilitated by host Tian Wei. It provides nutrition to form your own thoughts and ideas through a 45-minute live debate and interviews.
Schedule: Monday-Saturday
Time (GMT): 1415, 2015
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