Photographer Spends 15 Years With China's Oldest IVF Mom

When Sheng Hailin lost her only daughter to carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009, she refused to let grief be the end of her story. At 60 years old, the retired doctor from Hefei underwent IVF and gave birth to twin daughters, becoming China's oldest woman ever to use assisted reproduction.

Photographer Wu Fang was there from the beginning. Living in the same city allowed him to document not just the headlines, but the quiet moments that followed over 15 years and nearly 20,000 photographs.

The twins, Zhizhi and Huihui, are now teenagers preparing for high school. After Sheng's husband died from a stroke in 2022, she came out of retirement as a traveling health lecturer and later reinvented herself as a livestream host, building nearly one million followers to support her family.

Wu's project "Motherhood at 60" just won the Long-Term Project Award at the 69th World Press Photo Contest, making him the only photographer from mainland China honored that year. The judges praised how he transformed one family's deeply personal journey into a broader reflection on resilience, motherhood, and enduring family bonds.

Trust built slowly between photographer and subject. Wu would call ahead before visits, and over time their relationship evolved beyond documentation into genuine friendship.

"She's a strong-willed person, but at her age, she doesn't have many people to really talk to," Wu explained. When controversies arose or difficulties mounted, he offered advice and helped amplify her voice.

Why This Inspires

Wu's dedication shows how long-term storytelling can capture what breaking news never could. By returning again and again, he documented not just a controversial decision but the daily reality of raising children while facing public scrutiny, personal loss, and the challenges of aging.

His photographs reveal a mother's determination to build a new life from tragedy, one ordinary day at a time. The twins' new hats for their first Spring Festival, homework sessions at the kitchen table, and quiet moments between mother and daughters tell a story more powerful than any single headline ever could.

The images prove that sometimes the most important stories unfold slowly, requiring patience, trust, and the courage to keep showing up year after year. Sheng's family continues to thrive, defying early doubts about whether a woman in her 60s could raise two children alone.