Chinese nature photographer honoured for service to Kenya

By Peter Orengo

In his first visit to Kenya in 2001, Luo Hong was moved by the magical display of flamingos performing a courtship dance in Lake Nakuru Game Park.

His next visit to the country was to attend the annual Wildebeest migration in Masai Mara National Game Reserve. During those trips, his interest in animals and the natural environment was heightened. He has since returned 30 times.

Luo Hong, president of Beijing Holiland Enterprise addresses the Press in Nairobi Thursday. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO/STANDARD]

When he arrived yesterday, he was coming as a special visitor of the State after being awarded the Moran of the Order of Burning Spear by President Kibaki. The State commendation is awarded in recognition of one’s achievements and distinguished service to the nation.

He is the first foreigner to receive the award.

Mr Hong says he has visited almost all of the country’s national parks and game reserves, where he took photographs and films of landscapes and wildlife. This feat is said to have contributed to the sharp increase of Chinese tourists to 28,000 in last year, up from only 2,000 ten years ago.

"I was so much moved by the beauty of this country and its people. I believe that beautiful things can evoke kindness from the depth of people’s hearts," said Hong. He has held the belief after 20 years devoted to a career in photography and environmental protection, and crowned by tremendous achievements.

In China, Hong is a respected entrepreneur who owns 1,000 bakeries. Born in 1967 in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Hong is the president of Holiland, China’s biggest cake bakery.

Pictures from sky

As a well-known photographer, he has taken photos while flying over almost all western regions in China. He has also taken pictures of Africa from the sky over ten times.

He was also the first Chinese to hold an environmental photographic exhibition at the UN Headquarters in New York in 2009, following many successful exhibitions in China.

In these exhibitions – mostly scenes from Kenya – all of Hong’s artworks were auctioned for charity, with the entire income donated to environmental causes.

He has exhibited in the Beijing Underground, at Shenyang’s World Horticulturist International Fair, and his work will be shown at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

"I have been working as a photographer since 1985. I specialise in nature photography, and have travelled China’s western provinces extensively to capture the diverse scenery and ambiance of that part of the country," he said in Nairobi.

Over the last ten years he has been to eastern and southern Africa 21 times to photograph wild animals. To mark the World Environment Day in 2006, Hong held a solo photographic exhibition entitled "Earth, Our Home" at the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) headquarters in Nairobi.

Young talent

In November 2006, he established the Luohong Environment Fund, setting out to train and reward talent worldwide in environmental protection.

In 2008, the Luohong Environment Fund started to sponsor a Unep painting competition by children in China, a hugely successful event held consecutively over the past three years, with a cumulative over six million entrants.

In 2006, Hong was awarded the "Outstanding Photographer" of the year award by the Chinese Photographers Association, he was also one of the five "Climate Heroes" named by the UN Environmental Programme in 2009.

Hong is the author of many books, among them In the Name of Love, Uncle Luo Hong in Africa, and A Chinese Photographer and His African Friends.

"I firmly believe that the earth is the only home for human beings, and that the animals are our best friends. We can only make the earth more beautiful if we all live in harmony," Hong said.

As a philanthropist, Hong contributed over Sh15 million to the improvement, conservation and preservation of the Lake Nakuru Game Park, which fascinated him during his first trip back in 2001.

In 2006, Hong donated Sh150 million to Unep for use in different environmental protection programmes in Kenya, with Sh15 million going to the preservation of flamingos.