Spectacular imagery, enjoy.
Shanghai-based Wang Lu devotes himself full time to taking spectacular drone photographs of trains traversing China’s plains, deserts, valleys and mountains
Thomas Bird
Published: 12:45pm, 16 Feb, 2024 - South China Morning Post
“I am currently in Dayi county, Sichuan province,” says Wang Lu over the phone, some 2,000 km (1,240 miles) inland from his home in the coastal metropolis of Shanghai.
“It’s a historic place and there are some notable museums,” he explains, “and, of course, there’s a railway I’m interested in photographing.”
Travelling to distant locales such as Dayi in search of obscure stretches of railway track is not unusual for the 38-year-old Shanghainese shutterbug.
Since leaving full-time employment in 2015 – a seven-year, post-university stint as an accountant for professional services network Deloitte – Wang’s interest in railways, and photographing them, has morphed from a hobby into his raison d’être.
“I spend about three to five months on the road each year,” he says. “I’ve visited every province in mainland China, countless times. I’m even writing a travelogue of my experiences to go along with my images.
“I’m inspired by foreign books about China, books like Peter Hessler’s River Town [2001] and Michael Meyer’s In Manchuria [2015], which contain strong observations about China.”
Perhaps in the next few years, photographing trains will be banned or restricted, I don’t know. I have to get all the shots I can as quickly as possible.
Wang Lu
In a country where social conformity and familial responsibilities often trump any notions of individualism, Wang might outwardly appear like a restless loner occupied by an obscure obsession.
“I read any news about railway construction,” he says. “If a new railway is about to be opened, I will study the satellite maps in advance, determine the camera position I want to shoot from, plan the route, and choose a season with ideal weather for taking pictures.
“I usually spend one or even two months capturing a particular section of track.”
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