Entry Title: " Through the unknown Tashkurgan"
Name: li xinzhao, China
Category: Professional, Culture


Entry Description: Through the unknown Tashkurgan unveils an unworldly world I discovered on the Pamir Plateau. at China's west gate in the eastern part of the Pamirs on the "roof of the world" is the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang . The Tajiks reside in relative isolation in the snow-capped Pamir Mountain range of West China near the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. There are about 41,000 Tajiks living in Tashkurgan,
These peoples live in harmony and with intimacy born out of mutual trust and love. From 2009 until now, I was stayed for several month photographing the tajiks nomad, using a large-format digital camera Hasselblad and Profoto lighting. I was able to arrange an old pickup truck and a Tajiks driver . He and me traveled this sparsely populated landscape searching for the Tajiks nomad,staying with the families we encountered along the way.

The Distance Between Heaven “As a photographer, peregrinator and naturalist, I have been searching the world for an unworldly world. When something so picturesque happens to enter my vision, it simply makes my life a garden blessed with inconceivable flowers blooming in their glories. This wonderful mental and spiritual experience is so rewarding that it makes all those once challenging trips I made so far worthwhile.” Li XinZhao Born in 1980, She is a fine art photographer. She studied abroad at the University of the Arts, London、China Central Academy Of Fine Arts 、 International Center of Photography, New York. She began her photography career in 2006. Since then, she has shot many projects in England、 Unite State、Italy、Spain、Turkey、Cambodia、Nepal、Thailand、Tunisia、Kenya, ect . Ms. Li works and lives in Beijing, China. She works on self-initiated projects. She is currently running a photography project about THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HEAVEN. In 2009 she started work on this project documenting her journey through Pamir Plateau, where the Kunlun,Kara Kunlun, Hindukush and Tian Shan mountains come together, at the borders with Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor), Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan Province) and Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan). The county seat is the town of Tashkurgan. The territorial expansion of the county is 178 kilometres (111 mi) from north to south, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) from east to west, the total area is about 52,400 square kilometres (20,200 sq mi), at an average altitude above 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). The Muztagh Ata, at 7,546 metres (24,757 ft), and the Kongur Tagh, at 7,719 metres (25,325 ft), are the main peaks in the county, while the two main rivers are the Taxkorgan River and the Tiznap (or Tiznef) River (Chinese: 提孜那甫河; pinyin: Tízīnàfǔ Hé). There are several hot springs and resources of gold, iron, and copper. Tashkurgan has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk), influenced by the high elevation, with long, very cold winters, and warm summers. Monthly daily average temperatures range from −11.9 °C (10.6 °F) in January to 16.4 °C (61.5 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.58 °C (38.4 °F). An average of only 68 millimetres (2.68 in) of precipitation falls per year. She will telling the stories of those in need in the developing world. She has won numerous awards, including EPSON Color Imaging Contest [ China, 2007] ，National Geographic Photo Contest (People Category)[China, 2008] and My Shangri-La Photo Competition [2011]. EXHIBITIONS 2012 Lianzhou International Photography Festival, Guangdong,China Pingyao International Photography Festival, Shanxi,China Dali International Photography Festival, Yunnan, China Contemporary International Photography Biyearly Exhibition,Shandong,China 2010 Chinese Art Week in Expo 2010 ,Shanghai , China The 2th ASIA ART EXPO , Beijing ,China 798 Center For Art Promotion ,Beijing ,China