Bold in the cold

A seal mother with her pub in Quebec, Canada. (2009)

An Inuit woman in Inuvik, Canada. (2010)

Wild animals on Haltern Plateau in NW China's Gansu

The first step of his new life was building a website, named arctic007.com.

"The Arctic is my destination. And 007 refers to James Bond, who is my idol," Wang explains, slightly embarrassed.

In fact, he enjoys some similarities with Sean Connery, one of the most successful Bond actors. Both are elegant and smart. And Wang has the potent combination of a 20-year-old's vitality and a 60-year-old's insight.

"I like Bond and wish to explore the whole world and experience a variety of challenges. The Arctic is one of my dreams."

Recording images of the Arctic is a dangerous hobby due to its extreme weather.

"I rarely think about death, because my father lived to be 100 years old, and I believe that I can live more than 90 years," says Wang with a slight smile.

"My wife and I feel that life on the road is the happiest we ever found. If one day, we went to the Arctic Circle and never return, it would not be that bad because we die on the trip of our dreams. The Arctic's snow is so clean and there is no trace of pollution."

Death may not trouble him, but language does.

Night scenery of Harbin Ice and Snow World

Wang planned to shoot 300 settlements and has finished one-third of them in North America and Europe.

But most of the remaining 200 settlements are located in the Russian Arctic.

There are few images recorded of this region and Wang guesses that they are likely to retain the original life and religious practices because Russia pays little attention to this region.

"This may be the treasure I am looking for."

It's not easy for Wang to contact people living there even though he has written dozens of letters and e-mails to them.

He says this area is like a black hole of information - fascinating but daunting.

But Wang has made contact with the local foreign affairs office through the current photo exhibition.

The staff there has pledged to help Wang to contact the Russian side about expediting Wang's Siberian travel and perhaps putting on a photo exhibition there, too.

"I want to return to the road and continue my extreme dream," he says.

Contact the writer at wuyong@chinadaily.com.cn.