Rebecca Lee Lok-sze has taken the road less travelled and stayed true to herself. For more than 25 years, she has explored the North Pole, South Pole and other extreme environments, captured life in harsh conditions with her camera, and engaged and educated the Hong Kong and mainland communities about the environment through art.
'Some people laughed at me, doubting what I could achieve in my expeditions, [and saying that] I shouldn't have left the design industry from which I was making money,' says Lee, the first Hong Kong woman to reach the Arctic, Antarctica and Mount Everest. 'But this is my life. I do it my way.'
Formerly a successful graphic designer, who worked for Cathay Pacific's in-flight magazine for 10 years, Lee also contributed to the development of tourism on the mainland - she was behind the establishment of theme parks Window of the World and Splendid China Miniature Scenic Spot. She made the protection and preservation of polar regions her life's mission in 1985, when she first visited the South Pole on an invitation to help promote the mainland's new base there.
'I was amazed by the beauty of the environment, and also very proud of our country's achievements,' says Lee, who is the founder of China Polar Museum Foundation and has been to the Arctic 10 times, Antarctica seven times and made four trips to the Mount Everest region.
During her many journeys, she says she developed strength of mind and became sanguine about matters related to life and death.
Lee believes we need to know when to do what in our lives. She spent the first 20 years of hers building up her physical strength. In the second 20 years, she travelled around the world and observed people in other countries.