Chinese sexagenarian learns photography, takes great delight in filming wildlife in mountains

“It’s never too late to learn”, says a proverb. Wan Xingfu, a sexagenarian from Yanji city, northeast China's Jilin province has perhaps been one of the best practitioners of this saying. Having only learned photography at the ripe age of 58, he is now an enthusiast who goes about filming wild animals in the Changbai Mountains.

Photo shows Wan busy photographing in the snow. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

At the age of 46, Wan traveled to France without knowing the language. There, he started off as a dishwasher and eventually became a chef. He returned to China at the age of 51. Then, he opened up a travel agency, having also worked as a study abroad agent for a few years. At 58, he suddenly had a new idea -- to get engaged in photography.

So he went to Zhongguancun, a technology hub in Haidian district, Beijing with all his savings and bought photographic equipment at a total combined cost of 220,000 yuan ($34,408). He then recruited four young people and set up his own media company, getting ready to do something big.

Photo shows an image of a sable captured by Wan. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Wan started to learn photography formally from then on, taking pictures of various wild animals, such as Haliaeetus pelagicus and egrets. “It was a pleasure," says Wan, adding that “I couldn't stop at all."

At 63, he started operating his own account on the Chinese online video-sharing platform Douyin. Seizing the opportunity arising from the rapid growth of short videos, he gained 800,000 followers in just one and a half years. One of his videos received more than 3 million likes.

In order to learn photography, Wan drove 50,000 to 60,000 kilometers a year. At first, Wan barely earned any income, but instead continuously reinvested the 600,000 to 700,000 yuan his company made. Now, his company can pocket up to 5 or 6 million yuan annually.

Photo shows an image of a red fox captured by Wan. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"Once I want to do something, I will do it well," Wan said.

In fact, photographing wildlife in the snow and ice is not an easy task. Because of the long hours spent shooting in the bitter cold, Wan suffered from heel pain, which became excruciating whenever it got cold. "When I was shooting a few years ago, I accidentally fell in a puddle covered by snow. Luckily, my friend was about 100 meters away. He rescued me," Wan recalled.

Despite all the arduous work, Wan has no intention to stop. This year he turned 65. At an age when most people usually choose to retire, he said, "I want to fight for another 10 years. Life is so short, and it would be too meaningless to retire in my 60s. Besides, I also want to contribute to our society. For example, I can photograph wild animals and call for more people to care for them and protect nature."

Photo shows Wan photographing wild animals. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

In Wan's opinion, "not being a professional" is neither a threshold nor a barrier, but rather it gives people a broader perspective. He has more new ideas and will continue to carry them out in his future life. As he has always believed, it is only by keeping a fresh and courageous attitude that one can make a dull life exciting.