Gao Fei: A Close-up Shot of Wuhan

By Zhang Qingnan

Before coming to Wuhan, Gao Fei, Russian name Дeниc Ким,worked as a web designer and maintenance staff in Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service.Going to and from work every day, he had lived a regular, stable life for 17 years.“Time flies, never to be recalled. Yet my dream would still be a dream without me getting any closer if I did not take some action. So I made the decision to go to China to fulfill my childhood dream,” This decision was made when Gao Fei was 38.

Gao Fei’s father is Korean and his mother is Ukrainian. Both of them are pediatricians. Ever since he was a tiny tot on his father’s lap, Gao has been extremely interested in China. Back then,his father bought a lot of Chinese DVDs including kung fu films and other Chinese classics. Movie stars like Jackie Chan,Gong Li, and Zhang Yimou were familiar names to him. Gao Fei was attracted by the exquisite scenes of natural scenic beauty, the ethereal grace of Chinese style architecture, and the Chinese lifestyle portrayed in those Chinese films. What’s more, in Vladivostok, many Chinese commodities were sold, including vacuum cups, lanterns, colored pencils, ping pong paddles, and “DaDa” chewing gum. These goods set off Gao Fei’s imagination and sparked the fires of his intense curiosity about China.

高飞 Gao Fei

高飞镜头下的汉街 Photo of Han Street by Gao Fei

月湖之畔的琴台大剧院（高飞/摄） Qintai Grand Theatre by the Moon Lake (Photo: Gao Fei)

高飞，用镜头传播中国

文/张清南

来武汉之前，高飞，俄语名Денис Ким，是符拉迪沃斯托克国立经济服务大学的网络设计和维护人员，每天上班、下班，生活很平稳，一晃就过了17年。“时间在流逝，但梦想仍然还只是梦想，所以我决定到中国去。”高飞做这个决定时，已经38岁。

高飞的爸爸是韩国人，妈妈是乌克兰人，都是儿科医生。高飞从童年起就对中国感兴趣。那时候他的父亲买了很多中国影碟，有武打片也有生活片，成龙、巩俐、张艺谋……都是他熟悉的影星。他很喜欢电影里的自然风景、房子和人们的生活方式。符拉迪沃斯托克有很多中国商品，保温杯、灯笼、彩色铅笔、乒乓球拍，还有“大大”口香糖。高飞满脑子都是对中国的想象与好奇。

高飞血液中就有鉴赏美的基因。选择武汉源于网上一张“武汉站”的照片，波状屋顶把高飞深深吸引，他想亲眼看到它。网上关于武汉的信息不多，他决定来武汉之初，心里也打鼓，汉语和英语都不好，怕交流会有障碍，家人也很担心。

Gao Fei is aesthetically gifted.The funny thing is, the uniquely beautiful wavy rooftop he once saw in an online photo was what attracted him to the city of Wuhan; he wanted to see it in person. Not much information about Wuhan was available to him online in Russia. When he first arrived, Gao Fei was excited and nervous, with butterflies in his stomach. Since he was deficient,not only in Chinese, but also in English, he fretted the real possibility of a major language barrier—a worry also shared by his family.

Gao Fei is keen on photography, especially fond of documenting modern,international metropolises. As long as he is able, Gao Fei will strap his SLR camera around his neck and tour the city of Wuhan snapping away to his heart’s content. He often takes at least 200 shots in a clip, and more than 1,000 on a good weekend.In Gao Fei’s view,Wuhan is a dynamic and modernized city with skyscrapers sprouting up day by day. He is a big fan of tall buildings and likes to stand on skyscrapers snapping panorama shots of Wuhan. This is also the reason why he named himself Gao Fei, which means “flying high” in Chinese.

In the past few years, Gao Fei has witnessed the rapid metamorphosis of Wuhan that is taking place every day. New buildings, bridges, subways, and airports have been constructed and completed. Living in this ever-changing city, Gao Fei often gets lost and needs to ask for help from the friendly locals.

With more and more photographs and videos taken,Gao Fei established a Russian website, aiming to introduce the city of Wuhan to the Russians.Sometimes, he also posts these photos and videos to Facebook,Instagram and YouTube. Viewed through the astute eye of Gao Fei’s camera lens, the beautiful and graceful panoramas of Wuhan are wide-open and ready for the world to lay their eyes on.

高飞喜欢摄影，现代的国际化大都市给了高飞施展的空间。一有空，他就背上相机，四处拍照，每次起码要拍200张，周末甚至会超过1000张。他觉得武汉很大，高楼林立，很现代化，符拉迪沃斯托克最高的楼也只有20层。他喜欢高楼，喜欢站在高楼上俯瞰武汉之美。他给自己取名高飞，就是喜欢站在高处，体验飞鸟的视角。

在武汉这几年，高飞觉得武汉每天都在变，新楼、新桥、新地铁、新飞机场，不停地竣工报喜。他常常因此迷路，但是总能碰到热心人给与帮助。

随着照片和视频越来越多，高飞建立了一个俄语网站，想让更多的俄罗斯人了解武汉这座城市。有时候，他也会把这些照片和视频发到Facebook、Instagram、Youtube上。武汉的美，在他的镜头下尽展风姿。