Going down, looking up

In 2019, Qiubi was invited to go down to Antarctica for a commercial shooting project. "I immediately fell in love with the continent," she said. "Everything is so beautiful — the landscapes, the wildlife, poplar days and the night sky."

After returning to Beijing in November, she started looking for a convenient way to take photos of Antarctica freely. She soon decided to apply for jobs offered by some international polar exploration companies.

Qiubi sent her resume to a Danish expedition company, and in December 2019, she was hired to be its Antarctica photographer. The company can use the photos she takes while working for commercial purposes, and she serves as a photographic guide for the tourists visiting the continent via the company.

"I'm probably one of the very few Chinese women working on polar expeditions in Antarctica as a photographer," she said.

She has worked for the company every year since 2020. Each year, she makes multiple trips to the continent from October to February for the seasonal job, accompanying one tour group after another. "I spend one and a half or two months working in Antarctica," she said.

As the mother of a 7-year-old boy, Qiubi said she usually takes a break from her work to visit her family during Spring Festival.

"He is a very confident boy and has gotten used to my long absences from his life from time to time," she said of her son.

These days, she said she has video chats with him almost every day while working in Antarctica.

Qiubi said her coworkers have enriched her experience. "I've had the privilege of collaborating with colleagues from a variety of countries, many of whom are experts in various fields," she said. "Working with them has been a profound learning experience, broadening my perspective on the world and life itself."

Aside from her polar journeys, Qiubi has been looking up to the skies for photographic inspiration.

While traveling through Tacheng, Yunnan province, in 2014, she discovered a newfound passion for stargazing. Driving along a mountainous path, she was captivated by the breathtaking sight of the stars suspended in the night sky.

"It had been years since I last saw the galaxy," she said. "That night's spectacle transported me back to the starlit nights of my childhood when I lived at my grandparents' home in the countryside."

She began taking photos of the night sky, which has helped her reconnect with her childhood memories. "Astrophotography has evolved into more than just a hobby — it's become an obsession for me," she said. "It satisfies my insatiable curiosity about the unknown realms of the universe and fuels my imagination of advanced civilizations beyond our own."

Driven by this passion, she once dedicated six consecutive nights to capturing the celestial wonders in the wilderness of Yushu, Qinghai. Reflecting on that experience, she said, "I later learned that a Tibetan herder had been badly injured by a brown bear roaming the very area where I had immersed myself in capturing star photos."

The realization sent a shiver down her spine as she contemplated the proximity of such a formidable creature during her nocturnal photography sessions.

Qiubi reflected on how her numerous expeditions over the years have profoundly reshaped her outlook on the world.

"While working with a company, I used to be ambitious and focus on targets," she said. "However, through my photographic journeys, I have learned to embrace a more serene approach, finding joy in the journey itself rather than thinking solely on the end results."