Photographer focuses lens on China's rail history

[Photo by Wang Wei]

"Long-time exploration and persistency award him the best lights and angles," Photo World, a leading Chinese photo magazine, wrote about Wang.

Wang's passion for shooting trains comes from growing up in Beijing next to the Jing-Zhang railway line, China's first, built in 1909.

"I would stand on a little bench, and bend over the window to watch the diesel locomotives for hours," Wang recalled. To his 5-year-old eyes, the machines were an "amazing colossus".

At the age of 11, Wang snapped his first photos of trains after stealing his parents camera and heading down to the tracks without telling them. Later, when his parents developed the film, all the pictures were of trains.

After college, Wang tried to work a regular job at a private media company at the encouragement of his parents, but grew bored after two months and quit. He has dedicated his life to photographing trains since.

"The train itself is very beautiful," Wang says, describing his favorite model the Dongfeng 4, which he watermarks all his photos with.

"It looks dignified, full-figured, moderately angulated, with a strong whistle and rhythm when it starts."

Getting a picture of a Dongfeng 4, a symbol of China's rails and one of the most manufactured model since the 1960s, always excites Wang.

With faster, more modern trains replacing the Dongfeng 4, catching a glimpse of one is a rare treat, he says. Once, after spotting one in a remote mountain area in northwest China's Gansu Province, he raced his car next to it, exclaiming with delight as he kept pace with the steaming beast.

As his photos gain more notoriety, they are also fetching higher prices, allowing him to quit his part-time job as a wedding photographer to dedicate all his time to the hobby.