We've long been used to seeing the world through our perspective. However, as people would say, the world can be smaller than the tip of hair. Everything has a measurement of its own. In the unattended microscopic corners, there might as well be a vast unknown world luring people with great curiosity.

Zhou Qingfeng is a lucky girl with special perspectives. Living and walking in the bustling city, she is fascinated by the quiet beauty. As a fan of microscopic creatures, her greatest pleasure is to go deep into nature and visit those tiny inhabitants – slime molds.

Many people confuse slime molds with bacteria, which is a misunderstanding. Slime molds are completely harmless to humans. They are special single-celled protists. They take many different forms during the growth process. The millimeter-sized slime molds prefer a humid environment. It's hard to distinguish them with naked eyes. The first time seeing the slime mold under the microscope, Zhou was shocked by its beauty; thus she started her journey to the microcosmos.

At first, Zhou recorded slime molds in a friend's lab. For the convenience of photographing, she quit her job in the city and moved to the countryside. She goes into the forest every few days looking for the tiny creatures underneath the decayed branch and fallen leaves. To record their growth process, she often stayed by the camera for dozens of hours. Such a boring process, yet she relished it.

She cherishes every encounter with new slime mold species. The Physarum polycephalum that loves to eat oyster mushrooms, the beautiful Lycogala epidendrum and the Iridescent Lamproderma scintillans… each one of them has its unique beauty. To take better photos, Zhou also tries to cultivate slime molds herself. Despite all the difficulties, she never gave up.

"I've been doing microscopic photography of slime molds for almost seven years. And I am truly awed by the richness and subtlety of Mother Nature," says Zhou.

To record the growth of slime molds is time-consuming. There are about a thousand species of slime molds, each having a unique growth form. It is almost impossible to record them all by herself. What fascinates Zhou the most, however, is that the unknown slime molds mean countless possibilities. It arouses Zhou's curiosity and prompts her to keep exploring.

Fortunately, Zhou made many like-minded friends through photography. The pictures draw so many followers on Weibo. Through her works, more and more people get to know about the micro world that we had never paid attention to.

"What I have recorded is just the tip of the iceberg. And such teeny tiny life can be vibrant and fascinating," says Zhou.

Zhou also wants to make a documentary about slime molds. She immerses herself in the mild and silent micro world, recording the subtle beauties. Even the smallest creature is worth exploring. The single-celled slime molds are as tiny as dust. Although in Zhou's camera, they are brighter than the stars in the sky.

 

Supervisor: Pang Xinhua

Producer: Wen Yaru

Chief editor: Lin Dongwei

Director: Zhou Jinxi

Copy editors: Nadeem Gill, Liu Ke

Designer：Liu Shaozhen