He was herding goats high up the creases of sacred Mount Kawagebo when the morning light seemed right, recalled Ananzhu, an ethnic Tibetan from an isolated village of southern China. So he took out his camera. The scene he captured that day, of an emerald lake beneath two conical, ice-capped peaks, was both stunning and layered with meanings.
Ananzhu (he has only one name) was carrying a camera provided by the United States-based Nature Conservancy as part of a Photovoice project.
More than 250 people from 60 villages in northern Yunnan province, all from ethnic minorities, have been given a way to document, through their own eyes, their cultures and surroundings.
The NYT article includes a slideshow. The photos are also available on the Nature Conservancy web site.