Portraits from afar

Photo Provided to China Daily

The National Geographic photographer's stories on China have introduced the country to the West, says Lee Yung Shih, editor-in-chief of the Chinese copyright partner of National Geographic.

"The West's knowledge about China is still limited," Lee says. "Yamashita's works are important to introduce China's culture and history, such as the Tea-Horse Road's past."

Fu believes Yamashita stands out among the foreign photographers who've flooded the country since its opening-up in that he creates a "true and powerful pre-sentation of Chinese society".

"Many foreign photographers in China love shooting historical sites or the country's fancy, modern side, such as metropolitan skyscrapers and young fashionistas," Fu says. "But Mike focuses on regular people. He doesn't have a political or religious stance. He tells stories with great themes through ordinary daily life. That's something to which readers can easily relate."

Yamashita describes himself as a storyteller. His family and friends comprise his first audience, he says.

"What I'm doing now is telling stories to a wider audience, showing the world what I've seen and what I'm doing through National Geographic," Yamashita says.

"Hopefully, my work has value. Hopefully, it can change opinions. Hopefully, it has some impact. The stories I've done in China may have at least added a little to the general knowledge of 40 million people and their understanding to what is going on here in China."