China.org.cn: Post-00s storm photographer Liu Yijing: An inspiring dream chaser

BEIJING, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on Gen Z storm photographer Liu Yijing:

Do you know about storm photographers?

They get up close to storms to snap photos, and have been dubbed "storm chasers." For them, an understanding of meteorology, photography skills and an ability to survive in the wilderness are must-haves. Recently, a young storm chaser has caught public attention in China. His name is Liu Yijing, a post-00s storm photographer.

Not long ago, one of his photos was chosen as the cover for Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, a leading journal in the field. The photo vividly captures a mesocyclone, cumulonimbus clouds and the wall clouds that give rise to a tornado, as if they are racing toward us.

Yet this is just one of Liu's many storm photos.

Liu managed to capture asperitas clouds in his hometown in May 2020. The cloud is known as one of the rarest cloud formations in the world. Since then, Liu, who has been keen about weather since childhood, decided to "chase storms" using the knowledge he has gained about meteorology. Over the past two years, he has dedicated himself to researching weather systems, traveled nearly 30,000 kilometers across 11 provinces and regions, and captured hundreds of mind-blowing photos of menacing thunderstorms.

For a country with only a few storm-chasing photographers, Liu is quite young and exceptional. However, there are other things that make him even more special.

When out shooting storms one day, Liu encountered a farmer. The man told Liu that the hail that afternoon was so severe that it ruined his harvest.

Liu was deeply touched by the encounter. So, he decided to start making short videos about extreme weather to help people better understand the science. His aim was to prevent possible natural disasters and focus public attention on such events and environmental protection. Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of people are learning about meteorology from him on short-video platforms.

In a way, what Liu did is not revolutionary. But many people became fans of him as soon as we saw his story on the news. From a storm chaser who explores the majesty of nature by himself to a science communicator who aims to make a difference in the society, the 21-year-old embodies many of the fine qualities of young people in China: concentration, bravery, passion and a sense of responsibility.

Over the years, many of China's Gen Z have gained popularity at home and abroad. For example, Yang Liu, a 25-year-old girl who is determined to practice single bamboo drifting, a national intangible cultural heritage, combines it with dancing to better pass the skill on. Ma Yue, a ballerina who went viral on social media a few years ago for dancing across fields in the countryside, is now back to the villages, aiming to light up more girls' lives with ballet. These youngsters all seem to share similar qualities mentioned above.

While chasing beauty themselves, they also chase humanity behind the beauty. These young and brave dream-chasers, who shoulder their responsibilities and attempt to better themselves, really are inspirations to us all.

China Mosaic

http://chinamosaic.china.com.cn/index.htm

Post-00s storm photographer Liu Yijing: An inspiring dream chaser

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2022-05/19/content_78225975.htm

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