By+Ni+Yanshuo

Liang Qiaohui， 53， is a woman of many tal- ents： servicewoman， war correspondent， adventurer， traveler， writer， documentary producer and photographer.

But what thrust her into the spotlight were her experiences during regular visits to Africa since 2000. On each of her nine visits， she ventured deep into rural villages， living with local people for months at a time， documenting life with her camera and keeping meticulous notes of her adventures.

Liang has published five books and shot two documentaries on Africa to date. She now prefers to be known by the name the local Africans call her by： Liang Zi.

“Living in Africa for so many years， I gradually fell in love with the continent and the people there. For me， the people of Africa are just like my family members. They are my brothers and sisters and they are my best friends，” Liang said. “Also， because of me， China is no longer a faraway and mysterious country in the eyes of[some of] the local villagers.”

Chasing a dream

Liangs passion for Africa can be traced back to 40 years earlier when she was at secondary school. At the time she read a book about the Sahara Desert written by a famous female Chinese writer Echo Chan.

“I was impressed by the kindhearted people， different lifestyles， the vast desert and tropical rain forests there. At that time， I hoped someday I could go to Africa to see the continent and the people with my own eyes，” Liang said.

In 1977， at the age of 16， Liang joined the army， and later became a photographer in her platoon.

“My experience as a servicewoman tempered me spiritually and physically. Thanks to that， I have a strong will， which helped me when I went to different places in Africa on my own，” Liang said.

In 1989， Liang retired from the army and became a magazine photographer in Beijing. But she said her dream of going to Africa continued to dominate her thoughts and she began making preparations to realize it.

Liang is not a person who likes a quiet and idle life. In 2000， she resigned from her job in Beijing and flew to Thabang， a small village in northeast Lesotho.

She overcame her fears and made the decision to go soon after learning one of her friends knew the village head. “I realized it was quite a good opportunity to start my first African trip，” Liang said. “I didnt want to miss the opportunity， or I would never be able to realize my dream again.”endprint

Helped by the village leader， Liang soon settled down and lived with local villagers as her neighbors.

According to Liang， during her four-month stay in Thabang， she found that the lifestyle of local villagers was totally different from what she had read about or seen on TV.

“They are really kind to me and ready to help at any time，” she recalled. “Without their help， I dont think I could have stayed there for so long. They treated me like a family member.”

Four months later， she returned to China with bags of film rolls and filled notebooks. In September 2001， she published her book A Chinese Woman Photographers Life in a Village of Lesotho. This was the first book introducing Lesotho to Chinese at that time， according to Zhang xianyi， former Chinese Ambassador to Lesotho.

“I know I am actually engaged in bridging the folk cultures of China and Africa， and this work has great significance. I have faith in what I am doing，” Liang wrote in her book.

Ongoing discoveries

Liangs successful start encouraged her to continue her adventures. She returned to Africa eight more times， including trips to Sierra Leone in West Africa， Eritrea by the Red Sea and Burundi in East-Central Africa. Each time， she wrote books or shot documentaries as a record of her trips.

“The more I go to Africa， the less I think I know about the mysterious continent，” Liang said. “It encourages me to come back.” Her images introduce the continents wide open landscapes， sunny weather， roaming animals and smiling faces to Chinese audiences .

Liang said that she is impressed by the Red Sea fishermen. Although they dont have much money， they are optimistic and happy with life， and dont stress about trivial matters， something Liang said that others could do well to learn.

“Africa is lacking in economic development compared with some other places， but African people always smile and enjoy their life，” Liang said.

As with all travel， Liang has seen her fair share of challenges in Africa. In 2003， she went to a small village called Tio near the Red Sea in Eritrea. It was her third trip to the continent. She found that the women there did not want their pictures taken.

“I knew they did not think of me as their friend， and I had to show them that I was there as a friend，” Liang said. She set aside her cameras and lived with the local women like a native， talking to different families and getting to know who they were. When some of the villagers became ill， she helped out by offering Chinese medicine and massage techniques. As villagers had little or no ac- cess to medicine， her help was welcomed. Liang found that after more than a month， when she picked up her cameras once more to record village life， this time there was no objection.

“They had come to consider me as a friend. People， no matter where they live， have the same feelings： When you are friendly， they will welcome you，” said Liang， who believes this is the reason she has been welcomed by locals during her trips to Africa.

In 2011， Liangs documentary I Love Africa aired on Travel Channel， a broadcaster based in south Chinas Hainan Province. The 30-episode documentary， which recorded her trips to Africa over the past decade， received a warm reception from audiences.

Liang has also visited Afghanistan four times to shoot videos documenting the changes to womens status after the rise of the Taliban.

Now， Liang is planning her next trip to Africa later this year.

She attributes a lot of her success to the strong support of her family， who she says are very open-minded， and also to the fact that her husband is a photographer too. “He knows what photographers must do to realize their dream，” Liang said.endprint