Sky of delight provides treats for those ready to gaze upward

Wang Chen, a 38-year-old popular science writer

The first time that I felt a sense of happiness and serenity watching clouds was in primary school. My neighbor also gave me a number of comics and one of them had a yellow-brown cover. It was called Judge Weather by Clouds.

I liked it, not just because of the clouds, but because of sayings and poems about the clouds in it. "Clouds of a hook shape in the sky, rain will fall on the ground" was one that I remember and another was "When chaotic clouds are stirred up, strong wind and heavy rain will show up". They sounded cool. These have stayed in my mind and heart rather than, say, Tang poetry, or the multiplication table.

One day about two years before the college entrance exam, on my way to school, I saw a quite strange and beautiful rainbow. I felt it was magical. It was small and short with a sharp arc. Catching sight of it was lucky. It made me think that youth is like this rainbow; beautiful and precious. Then I wrote my first song named The Rainbow in the Cloud.

In 2003 I started to take some cloud pictures, and decided to collect and organize them in an album in 2006. This is a long goal and hobby of quiet passion. It cannot be rushed.

At that time, I was not very clear about the types of clouds, because I had never read a professional book. I always confused with some types.

Then I came up with an idea that no matter what clouds I saw, I would take photos first, as a record. It is advice I would give to any cloud spotter.

In recent years, I feel that Chinese people's interest in clouds has increased, with a growing number of enthusiasts going online to discuss it.

I think that one reason for this may be technology. Mobile phones can now take excellent pictures, so most people have a phone with them and can take a shot of a cloud that fascinates them and share it with others.

In addition, there is a greater appreciation of the natural sciences. Clouds are an important natural phenomenon.

Another important reason is that the country has increasingly realized the importance of educating people on the natural world and the importance it has on the economy.

For example, more science books have been published with support from the government. This tends to be good for the environment, and I value it very much.

Wang Chen spoke with Li Hongyang.

(China Daily 09/13/2019 page6)