Driven by his Chinese and Nanai/Hézhè (Asian Indigenous) roots, Kiliii Yüyan travels the polar regions and uses photography to capture landscapes, seascapes, portraits, and animals. His goal is to encourage viewers to connect to nature (or Mother Earth) and to themselves. A Carnegie Mellon University graduate, he began studying cognitive psychology before switching to design. Yüyan has contributed his photographs to several publications, including TIME, National Geographic, and Vogue. He received National Geographic’s 2023 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling.