Sharing Chongqing’s Heritage Revival through Photography | Story

Chongqing - The recent publication Hi! I’m Chongqing has recently hit the bookshelves nationwide in China, taking readers on an immersive journey through the remarkable development of this 8D metropolis, beginning from its very formation millions of years ago and detailing key factors that have shaped the lives of Chongqing people from times ancient to modern.

As one unfurls this work three years in the making, a collection of more than 200 exquisite photographs with detailed illustrations, along with plentiful scientific diagrams created for popular audiences, which bring to life the full scope of geographical and cultural depth waiting to be explored in Chongqing, an internet sensation that has taken the world by storm in recent years.

Ordnance factory sparks freelance photography career

Just a few years ago, Zhang Kunkun decided to give up on a stable career in brand marketing and graphic design, and in the face of gentle disapproval from home, he pursued his dream to work in freelance photography and short films. This ambitious move has now been fully vindicated, with over half a million followers on Douyin and more on rival platforms, who deeply admire his captivating perspectives of urban Chongqing, the snowcapped peaks of Western Sichuan, and scenes of traditional culture pictured through his lens. 

Since the Institute of Planets selected 15 of his impressive photographic works for their blockbuster publication Hi! I’m Chongqing, iChongqing reporter James Alexander sat down with Zhang in a downtown café in Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street to learn more about his inspiring journey.

As Zhang described, his passion for photography traces back to his formative years, when he grew up in a well-off family environment, based interestingly on a lucrative ordnance factory that mass-produced artillery shells. Now 41 years old, he described how this background allowed his father to indulge in the rarity of owning a camera around 1983, a vintage black and white device that he used for taking family portraits. Even the photographs from his childhood were taken with this camera.

It was this precocious exposure to photography at home that kindled his lifelong fascination with the arts in general, and so his interest in various art forms eventually led him to study at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SFAI) in Chongqing. This environment offered the ideal opportunity to fine-tune his artistic prowess under the tutelage of instructors and contemporaries, all while the institution also leaves plenty of leeway for individual creativity and philosophies to bloom.

Following graduation, he naturally progressed into stable office-based employment in brand marketing and graphic design, which offered a dependable career path leading potentially through retirement. However, Zhang always had more ambitious goals in life than purely job security and long suffered from the well-known phenomenon of itchy feet, as well as considerable back pain from the long regular hours sitting behind a computer desk. Even though he could dabble in photography and short films at work, he would have to embark on a whole new path to make freelancing a reality.

“I used to work in an office all year round and didn’t like the experience much. Sitting in a greenhouse felt like I yearned for nature and the weather outdoors. Also, my slipped disc caused me a lot of pain by sitting for long periods, so the option to leave this environment behind offered a logical resolution to this. I feel very satisfied with life now, and even when I’m not working, it’s fantastic to venture into the great outdoors, explore urban recesses, meet different people, and learn about various cultures. I prefer work that offers these kinds of advantages.”

Mountains and alleyways capture the imagination

Zhang now has over twenty years of experience in photography, and from the very beginning, took focus on natural scenery and the urban environment of Chongqing, while many other new hands would generally shoot anything in their initial wave of enthusiasm. In his case, the dramatic peaks of Western Sichuan have always instilled in him a deep fascination, such as Gonggar and Siguniang Mountain, which both tower over 6000 meters and exude the magnificence and vastness of nature.

Snow capped mountains also captivate photographers like him, as they forever play a mysteriously unpredictable game of cat and mouse, with ever-changing weather conditions that suddenly reveal the upper reaches, only to obscure them from view again. These shifting patterns can provoke extremes of disappointment and surprise, yet this emotional rollercoaster is something Zhang has learned to thrive upon, as patience eventually receives just recompense through a range of spectacular images and film recorded on camera.

“The snowy peaks fascinate me because you always want to behold their true likeness and witness nature in all her magnificence. It might be that you don’t see the mountaintops on one trip, but that just motivates you to repeat the journey the next time around. Also, the cloud lines add a mysterious quality to images, so while mountains indeed look stunningly beautiful when skies are clear, they will conversely lack that touch of je ne sais quoi,” he explained.

Likewise, the same principle can apply to urban environments. When shooting Chongqing, the cityscape may look wonderful on a clear day, yet the same perspective captured through a veil of fog can evoke a richer blend of emotions. In this respect, Zhang has benefitted from the profound insight that years of practice and understudy at SFAI have fostered, allowing him to produce a visual effect that sets him apart from many contemporaries. One notable illustration is that clarity and bright colors don’t necessarily make for the optimal image.

We relaxedly chatted in the café near the Liberation Monument and spoke about our respective holidays during the recent Spring Festival. While I made a return trip to England after five years away from home, Zhang traveled to the backpacking mecca of Dali in Yunnan but also made time to watch a spectacular Tongliang fire dragon performance in Chongqing. This famous intangible cultural heritage item has enjoyed wide publicity across the municipality this year and in far-removed locations, including the ice city of Harbin and London in the United Kingdom. The Tongliang dragon is one example that vividly captures the element of mystery Zhang seeks in his work. 

Cultural heritage enjoys renaissance among youth

The Tongliang loong dragon rekindles strong memories of childhood for Zhang, who was born in Baisha Town in the Jiangjin District of Chongqing, where dragon and lion dances were performed each Spring Festival amid the old streets, including the shower of molten iron sparks that confer the spectacle its breathtaking appeal. In the years since he grew up, the sight of dragon dances had been on a downward trajectory, so their recent upturn in visibility has reiterated the importance of preserving cultural heritage for future generations.

Flicking through images and videos Zhang took of the Tongliang dragon in the Spring Festival, and which he posted on his Weibo and Douyin accounts, it was precisely the gentle colours and contours set against the obscure background, with soft clouds of wispy smoke drifting in the foreground that gripped my attention, as if beckoning me to magnify them on screen and view them in closer detail. When I shared this feeling of mystery applied to cultural heritage, Zhang proceeded to explain his philosophy in terms readily understandable to everyday audiences.

“I’m always looking for a different state to picture subjects in, whether alternate weather or light conditions. In the fire dragon dance, they have a far more sacred and mysterious air when they appear out of smoke, or when the colors are subtle. This gives the viewer more room for interpretation, and this diversified approach shows the best photographs aren’t necessarily direct portrayals under clear illumination. For example, people often commit the mistake of adjusting the color saturation over bright, and this can easily create disinterest and visual discomfort among viewers. Photography is about producing work that stands the test of time, and not simply chasing mainstream trends.” Zhang explained.

In a few years, the prospects for continued inheritance of the Tongliang dragon and other intangible cultural heritage items have improved drastically. Not long ago, younger generations regarded such heritage as figments of the past, and saw no practical role for them in modern society, let alone forming the basis of a dependable livelihood. The changes Zhang has witnessed directly through his photography work show that trends are making a resolute turn for the better. 

For instance, Ciqikou Ancient Town in Shapingba District also hosted dragon dance performances over the Spring Festival. When Zhang spoke with the dancers, he learned their main problem now isn’t the struggle to keep the tradition alive, but rather trying to meet demand. Similarly, young people in Sichuan have realized that oil-paper umbrellas have great market potential, and so they are now willing to devote more efforts to their preservation and earn substantial incomes as a result.

Photographic documentary characterizes the soul of Chongqing

The publication Hi! I’m Chongqing was compiled between the Institute for Planets and the Chongqing Municipal Publicity Department in conjunction with the Western China International Communication Center. This photographic documentary of Chongqing from a geographical perspective was finally released amid great public anticipation in December 2023. It features the contribution of 15 photographic works produced by Zhang Kunkun, as well as a blurb recommendation about the city printed on the back cover. This can be rightfully seen as the fruit of cooperation dating back many years.

When prompted to share his main feelings on the book after its publication, the overriding impression was that most people in Chongqing have never understood their municipality well enough, a fact he confessed applies to himself in equal measure as a local citizen. However, this book has gone a long way to filling that gap, as the content takes readers on an immersive journey through Chongqing’s human culture and geographical history, beginning from the very formation of the land mass, to the modern-day 8D metropolis famed worldwide. “This book takes us on a voyage beyond space and time, and can exhibit the true soul of Chongqing from the comfort of home,” Zhang commented. 

Before the 15 photographs in question featured in Hi! I’m Chongqing, a number had already clocked up astounding viewing figures on social media over 30 million. However, selections from the Institute for Planets initially surprised him for their relatively simplistic content. Later, he came to understand the publishers were seeking to portray the multi-dimensional and densely populated nature of the urban landscape in the most direct manner possible, showing how the authors were not purely concerned with aesthetic beauty.

At this point, we leafed through more photographs on his mobile that feature in Hi! I’m Chongqing, and Zhang explained the characteristics that make them so unforgettable. The first was a long, narrow staircase running between two closely packed apartment blocks, pictured just at the time of day when sunlight illuminates the entire length while a jogger-like individual is climbing upwards to explore this mysterious urban recess. These fascinating peeks into the old residential quarters of Yuzhong District vividly show the traditional everyday lives of people in Mountain City stretching back into the past century. 

We then studied an image that ostensibly defies spatial cognition, and features is a large open-air bus park nestled halfway up a steep hillside, surrounded by highrises at lower elevation towards the forefront, others on a similar level beside, and yet far more towering above as they vie for prominence. At the same time, a scintillating myriad of home lights instills a profound sense of nocturnal serenity contrasting against the dramatic cityscape. Zhang shared how this personal favorite reflects the multi-dimensional qualities of Chongqing, as the bus station appears oddly suspended in mid-air from this perspective. 

In yet another mesmerizing example, Baixiangju represents one of the many antiquated residential communities hugging the mountainsides on the Yuzhong Peninsula and has long captivated photographers thanks to its proximity to the Chongqing Yangtze Cableway. For decades, this transportation relic was the most convenient way for everyday citizens to cross the river into Nan’an District until a modern wave of bridge construction ultimately led to it being repurposed into a celebrity experience on the nostalgic tourist trail.

This photograph below, taken many years ago, has previously featured on China National Geographic and captures the diminutive frame of the cable car shuttling through a gap in between the packed edifices of Baixiangju, which adeptly encapsulates the dense, multi-leveled urban architecture which denotes the face of old Chongqing, and which has made the dramatic cityscape a favorite shooting location among film directors, avid photographers and videography enthusiasts.

Unearthing more cultural gems in Year of the Dragon

Looking towards the future, Zhang wishes to build on the popularity of his photographic works on intangible heritage and bring greater attention nationwide to the cultural landscape of Chongqing, not only through performance art like the Tongliang dragon but also through the many inheritors living quietly in the old streets and ancient towns across the municipality, whose stories possess deep sentimental value, and should be recorded before the time comes when they may be lost to the annals of history. 

“I wish to further publicize Chongqing’s natural scenery and cultural heritage this year, and show people how special the city is through more in-depth photographs. I’ll pay closer attention to the ways of life for everyday citizens, and record the transformations in cultural ambiance over time.” as Zhang described.

Seeing there are many exciting years ahead for Zhang as his freelance career takes off, the conclusion of our downtown get-together felt more like the beginning of a long-term association. So the new Year of the Dragon promises more exciting perspectives and discoveries from Chongqing, where the great wealth of natural scenery and intangible culture still wait to meet the world at large. I will certainly be there as the story continues to unfold.