Documenting a Dream

　　She is a woman of many talents： servicewoman，war correspondent， adventurer， traveler， writer，documentary producer and photographer.

　　But what thrust her firmly into the spotlight wereher experiences during regular visits to Africa since2000. On each of her nine visits， she ventured deepinto rural villages， living with local people for monthsat a time， documenting life with her camera andkeeping meticulous notes of her adventures.

　　She is photographer Liang Qiaohui， who has todate published five books and shot two documentarieson Africa. She now prefers to be known by thename local Africans call her， Liang Zi.

　　“Living in Africa for so many years， I gradually fellin love with the continent and people there. For me，those African people are just like my family members，my brothers and sisters and they are my bestfriends，” Liang， 53， told ChinAfrica. “Also， becauseof me， China is no longer a faraway and mysteriouscountry in the eyes of [some] local villagers inAfrica.”

　　Chasing a dream

　　Liang’s passion for Africa can be traced back 40years to when she was at secondary school. At thetime she read a book about the Sahara Desert writtenby a famous Chinese female writer， San Mao.

　　“I was deeply impressed by the kindheartedpeople， different lifestyles， vast desert and tropicalrain forests there. At that time， I hoped somedayI could go to Africa to have a look at the continentand people with my own eyes，” Liangsaid.

　　In 1977， at the age of 16， she joined thearmy， and later became a military photographer.In 1985-86， she participated in the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts， photographingevents during the two years.

　　“My experience [as a servicewoman]greatly tempered me mentally andphysically. Thanks to that， I have a strongwill， which helped me a lot when I wentto different places in Africa on my own，”Liang said.

　　In 1989， she retired from the army and becamea magazine photographer in Beijing. But she saidher dream of going to Africa continued to dominateher thoughts and she began making preparations torealize her dream.

　　First trip

　　Liang is not a person who likes a quiet and idlelife. In 2000， she resigned from her job and flew toThabang， a small village in northeast Lesotho.

　　Upon hearing one of her friends knew the villagehead， she decided to go. “I immediately realizedit was quite a good opportunity to start my firstAfrican trip，” Liang said. “I didn’t want to miss it， or Iwould never realize my dream again.”

　　Helped by the village leader， Liang soon settleddown and lived with local villagers as her neighbors.

　　During her four-month stay there， she foundthat the lifestyle of Africans in her village wastotally different from what she had read aboutor seen on TV.

　　“They [villagers] were really kind to me andready to help at any time，” she recalled.“Without their help， I don’t think I couldhave stayed there for so long. Theytreated me like a family member.”

　　Four months later， she returned toChina with bags of film rolls and fillednotebooks. In September 2001， shepublished her book A Chinese WomanPhotographer’s Life in a Village of Lesotho. Thiswas the first book specially introducing Lesotho toChinese at that time， according to Zhang Xianyi，former Chinese Ambassador to Lesotho.

　　“I know I am actually engaged in bridging folkcultures [of China and Africa]， and this is work withgreat significance. I had new faith in what I am doing，”she wrote in her book.

　　Ongoing discoveries

　　Liang’s successful start encouraged her to continue heradventures. She returned to Africa a further eight times，including trips to Sierra Leone in West Africa， Eritrea bythe Red Sea and Burundi in East-Central Africa. Each time，she wrote books or shot documentaries to record her experience.

　　“The more I go to Africa， the less I think I knowabout the mysterious continent，” she said. “That furtherencourages me to go there.” Her images introduce to Chineseaudiences the continent’s wide open landscapes，sunny weather， roaming animals and smiling faces.

　　Liang said she was deeply impressed by Red Seafishermen. Although they don’t have much money， theyare optimistic in nature and happy with life， not stressingabout trivial matters， something Liang said others coulddo well to learn.

　　“Africa is backward in material development comparedwith some other places of the world， but African peoplealways smile and enjoy their life，” Liang said.

　　Friendly attitude

　　As with all travel， Liang has had her share of challengesin Africa. In 2003， she went to a small village called Tionear the Red Sea in Eritrea. It was her third trip to thecontinent. She found the women there did not want theirpictures taken.

　　“I knew they did not regard me as their friend， and Ihad to show them that I was there as a friend，” Liang said.She set aside her cameras and lived with them like a native，talking to different families and getting to know whothey were. When some of the villagers became ill， shehelped out by offering Chinese medicine and massagetechniques. As villagers had little or no access to medicine，her caring attitude was warmly welcomed. Liangfound that after more than a month， when she againpicked up her cameras to record village life， she met noobjection.

　　“They [now] take me as their friend. People， no matterwhere they live， have the same feelings： When you actas their friend， they will treat you as their friend，” saidLiang， who believes this is the reason she has been welcomedduring her trips to Africa.

　　In 2011， her documentary I Love Africa aired onChina’s Travel Channel. The 30-episode documentary，which recorded her trips to Africa over the past decade，was immediately received warmly by audiences.

　　Liang has also visited Afghanistan four times to shootvideos documenting the changes to women’s status inthe post-Taliban era.

　　Now， Liang is planning her next trip to Africa early thisyear.

　　She attributes a lot of her success to the strong supportof her family， who she says are very open-minded，and to the fact that her husband is also a photographer.“He knows what photographers must do to realize theirdream.”

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