Writer | Photo Editor

TIME

A collection of articles I wrote for TIME LightBox, their topics ranging from Chinese photography, youth culture, identity, and immigration.

Nine Chinese Photographers You Need to Follow

This list features the new generation of Chinese photographers and visual artists, all under 35, who were born and raised in a time of sweeping change. As China continues to diversify and assert its influence around the globe, these artists offer a glimpse into the ever-changing country and what it means to be Chinese today.

Navigating a Mother's Mental Illness Through Photography

Photographer Melissa Spitz spent the past six years documenting her mentally ill mother. For her, to fully confront the moments of chaos and, at times, ugliness of life — emotions often concealed outside of close family circles — was a difficult journey.

This Instagram Account Offers a New Perspective on China

@eyesonchinaproject, established by a dozen local and foreign photojournalists working in China, aims to give viewers “one place to go to get a very broad look at this country.”

Behind Asia's Photo Festival Boom

There are nearly 40 photography festivals and trade fairs across East, Southeast and South Asia, with new ones, like Photo Kathmandu, PhotoBangkok Festival and Chennai Photo Biennale, sprouting up every year. While the photo festival phenomenon is not limited to Asia, its relatively short history and yet rapid growth in the medium make the region especially attractive.

Inside the Life of China’s Most Famous Actress

While working as a freelance editorial photographer in Beijing, Californian photographer Rian Dundon learned about an unexpected job opportunity: tutor China’s most famous actress—Fan Bingbing.

A Photographer’s Meditation on Jet Lag

Magnum photographer Chien-Chi Cheng’s latest book, Jet Lag, is an effective meditation on countless dull hours spent in transit across the sprawling geographical trails of his career.

See the World Through the Eyes of the One Percent

One Percent: Privilege in a Time of Global Inequality, curated by Myles Little, takes a stab at exposing the ecosystem of the rich through a more exclusive photographic journey.

Photo: Thomas Sauvin/Until Death Do Us Part

Double Happiness: The Strange Use of Cigarettes at Chinese Weddings

Cigarettes played an unexpected role in Chinese weddings in the 1980s and '90s: the bride had to light a cigarette for every man attending the wedding banquet as a token of gratitude.

Meet China’s Young and Rebellious Hip-Hop Dancers

In China, where personal expression is often discouraged, a group of young dancers are riding the wave of an imported cultural phenomenon, appropriating the highly individual hip-hop genre to transform it into a choreographed group performance.

See Everyday Life in New York City's Projects

By letting residents document their own lives, this photography project aims to change the negative perceptions of New York City housing projects’ living conditions and culture.

How This Image Became the Best News Photo of the Year

This year’s World Press Photo jury surprised many people when it selected Mads Nissen’s portrait of Jon and Alex, a gay couple, during an intimate moment in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the Photo of the Year.

See the Real Side of China's Great Wall

Chinese photographer Fan Shi San cycled 4,000 miles along the Great Wall from west to east in three months, with the goal of building a visual archive of the country’s most symbolic construction. What he discovered was far from what he'd imagined.

Melting Away: Stunning Photos of Disappearing Icebergs

Camille Seaman’s ability to relate to icebergs and glaciers as individuals with distinct personalities has helped her capture their breath-taking yet very intimate portraits.

How a Chinese Organization is Helping Photographers Win Awards

Ever since Shaoming Yang became the first Chinese photographer to win a World Press Photo award in 1988, his peers have tried to follow in his footsteps. They have done it so religiously that it has been dubbed the “Photo Olympics” in China.

See the Life of Syrian Refugees Through a Thermal Camera

Maloney didn't want to contribute to a pool of expected scenes of distress. Instead, he bought a thermal camera to the homes of refugees during this year’s record-breaking winter.

Meet the Amateur Street Photographer Taking China by Storm

In October 2014, in the third-tier Chinese city of Hefei in the province of Anhui, the young street photographer Tao Liu became an overnight sensation.

Lampedusa Shipwreck: From the Depths of the Mediterranean Sea

In October 2013, an overcrowded boat carrying asylum seekers from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana capsized within sight of Italy's shores. Despite the vessel’s stated capacity of 35 passengers, it carried around 500 souls on board that night. Francesco Zizola revisited these waters at great depths to photograph the wreckage.

Learn the History of Modern China Through Photobooks

The Chinese Photobook, edited by Martin Parr and Ruben Lundgren, allow audiences to marvel at what Parr describes as “the forgotten gold” in the history of photographic publishing.