Artist captures lines of the times in ancient Shanxi architecture

Wearing an umbrella hat and a dark blue outdoor jacket, Lian Da sits quietly on a tiny folding chair in the overgrown wilderness of Shanxi province. With a black pen and a whiteboard, he gazes at the relic in front of him for hours and sketches its remaining glory.

Often accompanied by nothing other than the suspicious looks of passers-by, the mosquitoes buzzing with hunger, and occasionally a curious wild cat, Lian has devoted himself to this cause for almost two decades. Ever since his early 20s, he has traveled to Shanxi every year to record the fading ancient architecture there.

"They have been in existence for 1,000 years, but we have only four or five hours gazing at each other," says Lian, speaking of his motivation for enduring the hardship and solitude.