Amazing China photo contest kicks off

As part of the China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange, the 2015 Amazing China cellphone photo contest was launched on Monday in Beijing with the aim of promoting mutual understanding by encouraging tourists to discover the beauty of China.

The contest, which will run until November, is organized by China Daily, supported by the cultural branch of the Chinese embassy in Britain and assisted by Chinalink London.

Kang Bing, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily and chairman of the contest organizing committee, said photos are an efficient way to express feeling and tell stories.

"China Daily has been a major platform for showcasing China's development and changes to the world, and the contest will be a new platform for cellphone users, especially those from China and the UK, to capture and show the beauty of China to the world," Kang said.

The contest will choose winners from six categories, including Landscape, Architecture, Human Interests, Food, Family and On the Road. China Daily officials said the contest aims to discover a fresh China from photos of different participants from different countries and seeks to eliminate overseas audiences' misunderstandings about China.

Wu Xiaobo, financial writer and contest jury member, said the world does have the need to renew its understanding of China, given the great changes the country has undergone in the past 30 years.

"It means a lot for the public to exchange their understanding and feelings about China through cellphone photos," Wu said.

Other jury members include Wang Wenlan, deputy chairman of the China Photography Association; Michael Pritchard, director general of the British Royal Photographic Society; Colin Sheaf, head of Asian art at Bonhams Auctions; and Yang Xueliang, chief public relations officer of Geely Auto.

The results of the competition will be published in October. The winning photographers will be invited to the UK to attend the award ceremony in November.

This is the first China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange, the largest-ever platform for cultural exchanges between the two nations. During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to the UK in June last year, the two countries agreed to set 2015 as the Year of Cultural Exchange, with the first half being a "UK season" in China and the second half a "China season" in the UK.

Gao Jian, deputy director of the British Studies Center at Shanghai International Studies University, said the year of Cultural Exchange highlights the importance of culture given the fact that there are still misunderstandings.

"Cultural mutual understanding would lay a very consolidated foundation for the future of China and UK bilateral relations," Gao said. "Today in terms of bilateral relations between the UK and China, business plays an extremely important role. Therefore, I think the Year of Cultural Exchange will be meaningful, not only culturally but also economically and commercially."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn