His encounter with the Nujiang snub-nosed monkeys is a fine example. The monkey was only officially discovered as a species in 2010. It's currently only found in Yunnan and Myanmar, with a population of less than 600.

After learning about the species, Dong and his friends were thinking about photographing the animal. Starting in 2012, they repeatedly visited the animal's natural habitat in the Gaoligong Mountains but without success.

After they heard that the monkeys had been seen near the Pianma Protection Station in the Gaoligong Mountains on Oct 28, 2013, they launched their third attempt.

They started climbing at 3 am, in complete darkness and pouring rain. They had to rely on their hands to climb. "We didn't bring headlamps. When we needed both hands to climb, we had to bite down on the flashlight," Dong said.

They arrived at the destination at 7 or 8 am, when it was bright. However, the forest was quiet. "We were a bit disappointed because the monkeys would be active after daybreak, and it was already quite bright. We worried they had already left," he said.