A photo exhibition of China's iconic Great Wall started in Taiyuan, the capital city of north China's Shanxi Province on August 1. 

The eight-day showcase features 136 photos of the Great Wall sections in the province. 

The images are scheduled to go on a global tour in a few months. The photographs will journey to cities in the Chinese provinces of Shandong, Guizhou and Hunan before heading overseas to be shown in various countries. New York in the U.S., Toronto, Canada and Brittany, France are among the scheduled stops. 

Taken by photographer Ren Yanlong, the images depict the lives of the people who reside near the Great Wall, as well as the disappearing ancient towers and castles alongside the great wonder.

"I often stand alone on the Great Wall and see the Great Wall castle ruins. I revere the natural law but also have deep regrets about its status quo, the ruin," Ren said, explaining the inspiration for his photo collection.

For more than 10 years, Ren has visited different sections of the Great Wall to record stories through photography.

"Every photo is a story that records part of the history," Ren said. "If I'm not taking photographs of the Great Wall, I'm on the way there for the same purpose."

Shanxi is home to many sections of the Great Wall, whose construction span different dynasties. Parts of the Great Wall in Shanxi were built in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). 

The remaining parts of the Great Wall in the province, including numerous ancient walls and relics, stretch for around 1,500 kilometers.