Zhang Kechun’s latest series Among Mountains and Water is a result of his extensive travelling and features shots of large, expansive mountain ranges and immense, concrete bridges.

Landscape is the carrier of Chinese sentiment. The literati’s interest in strolling in the mountains, the thought of mountains as virtue and water as nature, and the visual narrative of the world at hand have always been the main lines of interpreting the landscape. My career has given me the opportunity to visit the mountains and to re-examine the current landscape.

China, in the midst of rapid change, is immersed in the exuberance of prosperity, accompanied by its overwhelming destructive power. In this environment, as ordinary people, we are really insignificant. So, during my trek last year, I was looking for these people who are still with the mountains and water. I also asked them to press the shutter during my shootings, I think there is nothing more intense and complex than the feeling of being there, even if it is for a brief moment. I was also delighted by the classical treasures I encountered on the road, but then I was deeply worried that they might not be there tomorrow.