I get why he likes it. The bridge is a delicate body of wire cable musculature and iron bones born from a nation’s collective struggle. It is held together by a tension that connects the people to earth, to the waters and to the sky, all with golden ratio arcs that align perfectly with the curvature of the mountains in the backdrop.

The young Xi Jinping leans on a fence in the foreground, illuminated by the faint glow of the foliage. The fence provides him with support while firmly placing him on the same side as the people observing the bridge in the background. The wooden fence is solid, firm and simple in contrast to the majestic feat of engineering that demands your focus, but it forms the foundation of his connection with the people.

Standing slightly slouched with his hands behind his back, Xi’s crown is perfectly balanced at the central tension point of the image. His face sits at the exact place where two lands meet in the middle of the bridge. All the lines in the photograph extend through this point, forming the final place of connection between Xi, the people, the lands and the labor.