A group of professional photographers have finished a 20-day scientific expedition, using their cameras to record the rich bio-diversity of southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.

Their expedition also includes dives into a plateau lake to capture rare shots of Tibet's aquatic habitats.

The expedition, which started in early November, is expected to capture the changes in the way of life of the near-extinct species living in Tibet's idyllic prefecture of Nyingchi, said chief organizer Xu Jian, head of the Images Bio-diversity Expedition (IBE), the non-governmental organization undertaking the expedition.

Xu's team is composed of professional wildlife photographers who deeply appreciate the beauty of nature.

The group's previous expedition, a trip to the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon in Tibet last year, recorded more than 850 wild species and provided valuable image data for scientific research on bio-diversity in the region, Xu said.

For each of these expeditions, photographers are expected to trek deep into the wild, camp out, patiently wait for the wild animals to appear, and quickly capture images.

"In the past, biologists relied on sketches of wildlife made during field trips. But now with the development of photography, we can record these images in a better way," Xu said.

Xu said the photos they took were also used for exhibitions and various publications the photographers hoped "would allow Chinese people to discover the unique natural beauty of their country."