"You may have no idea how much money that was at the time. It was several months' living expenses for my family," he said. "But I really wanted to record life's precious moments and the beauty of my hometown."

He began by walking around nearby areas in his spare time, taking photos of whatever he found interesting. "Sometimes, villagers would ask me to take photos of them and give me a little payment, but most of the time, I preferred to shoot beautiful scenery," he said. "I've walked almost all the wild mountains in these parts."

In 2000, Qi held his first photo exhibition with the support of Jilin's cultural center. The experience encouraged him to take more pictures and improve his skills.

"It was difficult for me to make a breakthrough in landscape photography at the time," he said. "As I found there were few photographers focusing on rural themes, I had the idea of turning my camera on rural areas."

Qi's photos lovingly capture the landscapes, daily life and the great changes that have occurred in rural China and have attracted a great deal of attention across the country.