For more than a century, National Geographic magazine has captivated millions of people with its images of life in its boundless variety around the globe. The society behind the publication oversees a wealth of pictures, articles and TV programs which bear testament to 115 years of political, economic, cultural and geographic change.
The documents capture moments but their quality is timeless. Now the National Geographic Society has brought the best of those photographs to Beijing in an exhibition at Beijing's Millennium Monument Museum.
This is perhaps one of the most famous photographs in the National Geographic collection. The image of the Afghan girl with the green eyes stares out with piercing clarity. But the picture is just one of the stunning moments captured on film and now in China.
The National Geographic exhibition explores the spectrum of life and humanity on this planet and beyond. It ranges from the macro to the micro, the social to the personal, the monumental to the mundane, the environmental to the technological. It also touches on humanity's legacies. Each exhibit is briefly explained in Chinese and English but, more often than not, the pictures need no introduction. The message is clear: this is world of adventure, passion and change.
As one of the most successful international journals, the National Geographic has tens of millions of regular readers in 170 countries and regions around the globe. The magazine's content goes through an extremely strict selection process so you can be sure that what is on show is the best of the best.
One of the highlights of the show is "Marco Polo Returns to China" presented by Japanese photographer Michael Yamashita. Yamashita spent three years retracing the steps Marco Polo travelled along the ancient road 700 years ago. He walked through ten countries and shot more than 10,000 frames.
It doesn't matter that you are a photo enthusiast or a loyal National Geographic reader but you shouldn't miss this chance to see a concentrated view of history.
(CCTV.com November 14, 2003)
