This man has turned his home into a small tea house. But nobody comes to drink his tea. He is about to retreat to a darker part of his house. I made this image just before he left me -- it is almost as if I am trying to hold him back from the darkness that calls him. It is such a painful picture for me to look at. I feel the loneliness that seems to be slowly draining the life from this man.
I was born and raised in Shenyang, a city in the north of China. In 2001, at the age of 22, I left home and went to Vancouver, Canada to study and experience a new life. I became interested in photography the next year when I bought my first digital camera. I was fascinated by what I saw through the lens - the beauty of the landscape, the textures of nature, and the people of many different cultures. It seemed that everything came to life in front of my eyes -- a new world suddenly opened up for me.