Yang Shiqiang, 82-year-old forest ranger, met by Greenpeace team during an investigation on old Himalaya Hemlock trees in Yunnan, has a lifelong mission to protect the ancient forest.
Yang Shiqiang was the first local woodlands staff to discover the thousand-year-old Himalaya Hemlock. In early 1960s, Yang started to work in Caojian Woodland, Yunlong County, Dali.
He sees the change in social demand for tree resources within these years: from extensive to intensive development model. People have began to realize the importance of environmental and ecological protection and take efforts to guard the precious primordial forest in their homeland.
Greenpeace Beijing Office, in cooperation with wildlife photography institution “Wild China”, spent 2 years on a scientific expedition to search and succeed in taking a life-size photo of the world’s oldest Himalaya Hemlock. It is also the first publicity life-size photo of giant ancient trees in mainland China.