Inside the driver's cabin of Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, Liu Heung Shing focused his camera on two people from Tianjin.
Wen Yucheng and Zhang Dongdong had both been seconded to Indonesia from the Beijing Railway Bureau. They were in the cabin of a train running at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, with Indonesian trainees observing beside them.
Previously, the journey from Bandung to Jakarta took around 10 hours. With the 142-kilometer high-speed railway, it now takes just 46 minutes. But once he stepped out of the high-speed rail station, he felt as though he had gone back to a time before the advent of high-speed rail. The drive through congested city streets from the Jakarta high-speed rail station to his hotel took two and a half hours.
This contrast is also included in his book Old Road, New Connections: China in the World. It marks a new chapter in Liu's own career. From early 2023 to the end of 2025, the photographer, then in his seventies, traveled to 21 countries and more than 50 regions, covering more than 270,000 kilometers and presenting the Belt and Road Initiative from a distinctive perspective.
"I covered many of the major events and major stories of the last 25 years of the 20th century. The Belt and Road Initiative may be the largest human development project of the 21st century," Liu said.
To understand something, go and see it for yourself
On August 8, 2025, Liu's solo exhibition "Lens · Era · People: Guangzhou, First Encounter and Reunion" opened at the Chunyangtai Arts and Culture Center in Langtou Ancient Village, Tanbu Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou.
From that photo by the Pearl River to the more than 300 images documenting the Belt and Road Initiative, Liu's approach to his work has remained unchanged. "The first lesson in journalism is reporting from the scene," he said. "If you want to understand something, you have to see it for yourself. It is essential."
It is also a habit he developed over the course of his career as a professional journalist. During his 28 years with the Associated Press, Liu headed five overseas bureaus. Even today, he gets up at 5 a.m. every morning, spends three hours reading and watching the news reports, exercises and then begins his day's work. "My judgment of the news is based on what I learn every single day." This extensive intake of information forms the basis of his ability to make well-rounded judgments about events.
In his view, a well-rounded judgment of the news also comes from a broader vision and multiple perspectives. "For many years, most of my reporting focused on international news, so I developed a habit of looking at things in a certain way. You have to identify the bigger logic," Liu said. "The broader logic is not easily broken or changed, but it reflects a larger reality. That requires enormous patience and careful observation, especially when you are trying to present something as vast and complex as the Belt and Road Initiative."
"When you read the reports while also listening to real stories from real people, your logic chain becomes more complete and your judgment more accurate," Liu said. "That is why you have to go to the scene."
"China 3.0" is an understatedyet profound force
Over the past three years, Liu has traveled across Africa, South America, Central Asia, Europe and Southeast Asia. One question has always been on his mind: How can the blueprint of the Belt and Road Initiative drawn by China be realized in vastly different cultural, economic and institutional settings?
The answers can be found in container dormitories in Aktau, Kazakhstan; in the control room at Peru's Port of Chancay; in textile factories in Prato, Italy; and in the container yards of Piraeus Port in Greece.
These scenes scattered across five continents ultimately led Liu to draw two conclusions.
The first was about respect. "In the past, how could colonial powers care about what local people had to say?" Liu said. "China now treats every sovereign country equally. All overseas projects under the Belt and Road Initiative are carried out by abiding by local laws, cultures and regulations."
His second conclusion was that China has demonstrated three major advantages overseas. The first is lower management costs. The second advantage is the cost of materials. The third advantage is lower lending rates.
But what Liu saw went far beyond cost. China, he noted, is no longer exporting cheap labor, but sending teams of skilled engineers and technicians overseas. The diligence and pragmatism of Chinese workers also help keep projects moving forward. Consistent on-time delivery is a key reason local partners ultimately come to trust Chinese companies. Another advantage lies in the ability to coordinate across departments and sectors.
"The Europeans say they were struck by China 2.0. I told them: Just wait and see what kind of impact China 3.0 will have." In Liu's view, the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative marked the beginning of the China 3.0 era. Liu does not go much further in defining exactly what "3.0" means. But judging from the record of his three years on travel, his attention has consistently remained on real people, real lives and tangible change.
"China does not like to make a show of what it does. It keeps a low profile and focuses on getting concrete projects done."
Key to photography is building trust among people
Four decades later, as AI plays an increasingly prominent role in image-making, a question has emerged: When technology can generate almost any image, what makes photography irreplaceable?
Liu shared his experience on taking photos during his journeys,."When you point a camera at someone, if they have no trust in you, that unease or anxiety will find expression in their eyes, on their stiff shoulders and in their facial expressions," he said. "When we raise the camera, how does the person look at us? Is there trust in hisa eyes? How can AI replace that moment?"
For Liu, the essence of photography lies not in technology, but in relationships. "Photography is about the relationship between me and the people I photograph, and everyone may see that relationship differently," he said. "You have to establish a basic level of trust with the person you are photographing as quickly as possible. With your words and your sincerity, you get permission to raise your camera in front of them." Building that relationship requires empathy and curiosity, as well as a genuine understanding of local life.
Despite witnessing conflict, sanctions, poverty and instability, Liu still believes in the simple trust that can exist among people, and he continues to focus his camera on individuals.
To Liu, the power of photography lies in its attention to people — in allowing viewers to enter the image and form an emotional connection with those inside it. "What is emotion? It is the sum of your knowledge, your life, your experiences and the roads you have traveled. All of these come together to form the emotion you bring into a story."
These faces and stories will soon be presented to audiences in Shenzhen. This November, Old Road, New Connections: China in the World will go on show in Shenzhen, marking the first time the photo collection will be introduced to Chinese mainland audiences in exhibition form. A substantial selection of the book's more than 300 photographs will move beyond the printed page and be displayed in the exhibition.
For Liu, the exhibition is both a look back and a new beginning.
"The best picture is always the next one," he said.
Text | Wang Kai, Zhang Xuanzhen (intern)
Photo | Liu Heung Shing
Video | Qin Shaolong
Design | Cheng Hong
