Radiant sunshine and warm spring winds greeted journalists on
Monday as they attended the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition
titled "The Four Seasons in Xinjiang" at the Beijing China
Millennium Monument.
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The program, an effort to capture images of Xinjiang through the
eyes of both Chinese and foreign photographers, was jointly
sponsored by the State Council Information Office, the China
Photographers Association and the Information Office of the
Government of
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
A total of 59 photographers from 22 foreign countries, including
the US, Canada, Britain, France, Australia, Germany, Italy and
Spain, were invited to take part in the program, along with over 40
photographers from Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Ismail Amat, vice chairman of the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Abdulahat Abdurixit, vice chairman of the 10th
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC), and Wang Guoqing, vice minister of the
State Council Information Office, attended the opening
ceremony.
Ismail Amat told China.org.cn that Xinjiang has made tremendous
achievements in social and economic development over the past five
decades.
"During the tour, photographers from home and abroad captured
Xinjiang's social life, folk customs and natural scenery in spring,
summer, autumn and winter," he added.
"This is a great opportunity to introduce Xinjiang to the whole
world. The program was created to showcase Xinjiang's stunning
natural beauty, colorful ethnic and religious cultures, and the
life of its various ethnic groups from the different perspectives
of photographers, thus fostering a comprehensive image of Xinjiang
featuring development, stability, and harmony," he said.
He went on to explain how "photographers witnessed Xinjiang's
rapid development in its modern cities and flourishing rural areas
alike. They experienced the colorful lives of local residents. All
these inspired them to record the different natural views and folk
customs in the four seasons, its progress, as well as the
solidarity of different ethnic groups, harmony and stability
evident in the region from unique angles in the 300,000 photos they
took."
According to the organizer, the photographers traveled over
200,000 km during their 57 days in Xinjiang's 15 prefectures and
cities, visiting from January 9 to 21, June 5 to 18, August 4 to 19
and September 25 to October 8 in four groups.
The region was established on October 1, 1955, and covers an
area of 1.66 million square kilometers -- one-sixth of China's
landmass. It is home to 13 ethnic minorities who have lived there for
centuries.
It is centrally located on the Eurasian continent, on the
northwest frontier of China. Once an important link on the ancient
Silk Road, Xinjiang continues to attract millions of domestic and
foreign visitors with its dramatic scenery and diverse customs. It
shares borders with eight countries, and 16 class-A land ports are
located along its 5,600-kilometer boundary.
Six of the neighboring countries -- Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan -- are also
members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an intergovernmental organization that
focuses on regional security.?
Related?reading:
50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
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(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wang Ke, March 26, 2007)
