Gangsters of the seas

Photographer Zhao Yun, 27, is passionate about pirates. He wears a "Pirate Ship"-brand silver necklace, plays King of the Pirates online with friends and proudly shows off his Captain Hook statue and the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD box set on his bookshelf.

"Pirates are fascinating because they are surreal," he says, echoing a popular sentiment among many young Chinese.

But bandits on the high seas are real. In December, the Chinese navy sent three ships to Africa to protect Chinese freighters from Somali pirates.