Over the past seven years, Wang Jiannan has made 16 trips to the Arctic and captured over 30,000 stunning photographs
In 2009, during a dog sledding race in northern Canada
While others his age were spending their retirement taking care of grandchildren, this 63-year-old chose a different path — traveling to the Arctic Circle to photograph its indigenous inhabitants.
Starting in 2005, despite his graying hair, Wang Jiannan has made 16 trips to the Arctic, visiting nearly 100 settlements across eight countries within the Arctic Circle — including Canada, Alaska (USA), Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Russia’s Sakha Republic. He has taken more than 30,000 photographs, covering the daily lives of the indigenous people, hunting activities, as well as unique Arctic flora and fauna.
“It’s not about being great; I’m just following my heart and doing what I love,” Wang said slowly but firmly.
As a once-renowned photojournalist from Harbin, his exhibition titled “Life in the Arctic — The Works of Wang Jiannan’s 16-Round Circumpolar Photography Expedition” is currently on display at the Harbin Art Museum in the western suburbs of Harbin — attracting widespread attention both domestically and internationally within just a few days.
Finnish Ambassador to China, Mr. Lars Backstrom, said: “‘Life in the Arctic’ is truly an unparalleled exhibition. Especially for a country like China, which has no territory within the Arctic Circle, having a Chinese lens capture such scenes is nothing short of astonishing.”
Wang jokingly refers to his journey as an “extreme mission” — “Extreme has two meanings — the Arctic is an extremely harsh place climatically, and I myself am an extremely detail-oriented person.”
“Life is so wonderful, I wish I could live it several times.”
As a teenager, Wang loved painting. In April 1966, he was admitted to the then-most prestigious art school in China — the affiliated high school of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts. Had everything gone smoothly, China’s art scene might have gained a renowned painter.
But the Cultural Revolution, which began a month later, destroyed all that. In the following years, he worked as a porter, farmer, and middle school teacher, but his dream of painting never faded.
Wang reconnected with his dream ten years later in 1976 when he was hired as a photojournalist by the Harbin Daily News.
“Photography was my life’s anchor back then.”
Due to his outstanding work, coupled with China’s sweeping 30-year reform and opening-up movement, Wang quickly rose from an ordinary reporter to become the president of the Harbin Daily Group — at the age of 44.
“That career trajectory remains legendary even today. Not to mention, under his leadership, the Harbin Daily Group pioneered the establishment of a media conglomerate nationwide and achieved modernization reforms — leading the nation in these advancements,” said Ms. Tian, who worked at the Harbin Daily for many years.
The 23-story, ochre-red headquarters of the Harbin Daily, located on Youyi Road in the city center, once became an iconic landmark of the entire city.
However, at the peak of his career — seven years after becoming the head of the Harbin Daily Group — he chose to step down from the forefront — at just 50 years old, a full ten years before China’s typical retirement age.
“Everyone only has one life. But if I can try multiple ways of living within this limited time, then my life is effectively doubled or even tripled,” Wang explained regarding his choice.
In 2001, China joined the WTO, marking the beginning of the next ten years — a decade of astonishing corporate expansion that stunned the world. When a Shandong-based multinational company learned of Wang’s desire to switch work environments, its CEO offered him an astronomical annual salary of 1.2 million yuan at the time to serve as the president of an overseas-listed company.
From then on, Wang began a new chapter in life — or a second life.
Encountering the Arctic and a Second Life
Due to work, Wang traveled to Canada and co-founded a Chinese-language TV station with friends. Life was easy and pleasant. By chance, he came across a report about a local young man driving to the Arctic on his own.
“We used to think the Arctic was just a frozen, off-limits wasteland. We didn’t expect ordinary people could go there too. After discussing it with my wife, we made simple preparations and set off.”
October 2005 marked the beginning of a new chapter in life — a trip to an Inuit fishing village along Canada’s Arctic Ocean. The locals’ blend of modern and traditional lifestyles deeply intrigued Wang. What kind of people were they?
In 2008, joining a National Geographic expedition to the Arctic Circle completely transformed Wang’s vision for this new life.
“Their (National Geographic’s) arrangements were excellent. I got to visit many settlements within the Arctic Circle — of course, our focus was different. National Geographic was more concerned with nature and ecology, while I cared about the people — the local Inuit and Sami — and their struggles and helplessness in the face of modern civilization’s intrusion.”
With the keen insight of a journalist, Wang discovered a task that no one had yet undertaken — documenting the living conditions of the Arctic’s indigenous people and the impact of environmental changes on local wildlife.
“I want to spend five to ten years, or even longer, using documentary photography to comprehensively study the residential areas of the Arctic’s indigenous peoples as defined by the United Nations. Before the Arctic undergoes permanent change, I aim to use my camera to write a photographic ‘White Paper on Human Ecology’ for the early 21st century Arctic.”
After completing his journey, he sold the television station that had already started to turn a profit and built a website himself, naming it arctic007.
"Arctic refers to the North Pole, which is also my subject of filming; 007 is James Bond, who is also my idol," Wang said with slight embarrassment, his expression just like that of a boy experiencing first love.
The English name Wang gave himself is Seven; in fact, from this Wang—with hair already streaked with gray but with thoughts and steps equally nimble—there really is a striking resemblance to Sean Connery, the most classic actor to play Bond—elegant, composed, and witty.
What makes Wang most captivating is the blend of the vibrant energy unique to a 20-year-old and the insightful wisdom of a 60-year-old who sees through all things in the world.
"I hope to experience all kinds of different challenges around the world just like Bond, and the Arctic is one of my dreams."
Death and Dreams
Considering the unique geographical and cultural environment of the Arctic Circle, choosing to document this region is not an easy task, and can even be a dangerous hobby.
Wang recalled that he did encounter many dangers during the filming process—for example, once when his car fell into a ditch knee-deep; and the nearest settlement was 600 kilometers away, so if he couldn’t get out, he would surely have died.
Before holding this exhibition, Wang said he seldom thought about death because his father lived to be 100 years old, and he believed he could also live past 90.
"We feel that there is no place happier to live than on the road, because we’ve found the state that makes us happy. But looking back, if one day we really go to some place in the Arctic Circle and might never come back, that’s actually quite normal—in a sense, this kind of ending isn’t bad—because I would die while chasing my dream, and the snow there is still so clean, without a trace of pollution."
Death is not the issue, but language certainly is. According to Wang’s plan, he still needs to photograph about 200 more indigenous settlements. The problem is that most of the remaining areas are located in Russia’s Arctic Circle.
"There are very few visual records of these areas. But I’ve analyzed that, considering Russia’s focus on its European part and the long-term underdevelopment of the Far East, the indigenous people in this region likely retain their original way of life and religious customs—that’s the treasure I’ve been seeking."
In order to make contact with the locals, Wang has written dozens of English emails, but there has never been a reply from Russia’s Arctic Circle—that area is like an information black hole—both fascinating and intimidating.
The latest development is that through the exhibition, Wang got in touch with the Heilongjiang Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and the relevant department promised to assist him in contacting the Russian side.
Currently, Wang is the only photographer in the world who has systematically and comprehensively documented Arctic indigenous settlements. When asked what kind of support he hopes to receive most at present, his answer is to find an organization to help manage his photographic works—providing a permanent exhibition hall and organizing global touring exhibitions—because he wants to keep going and complete his "extreme mission."