Prestigious photography awards ceremony held in Pingyao

The awards ceremony of the 22nd Pingyao International Photography takes place on Sept 21. [Photo/Pingyao Rong Mei]

The awards ceremony of the 22nd Pingyao International Photography Festival was held on Sept 21 in Pingyao county, North China's Shanxi province. 

More than 12,000 works by more than 1,110 photographers from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, as well as 110 photographers from 28 countries and regions, featured in this year's festival. 

Photographers receive their awards at the ceremony. [Photo/Pingyao Rong Mei]

Some 40 photographers received seven major awards, including the Excellent Photographer Jury Awards, the Curatorial Awards and the Kunpeng Chinese Young Photographer Promotion Awards.

In particular, the Kunpeng Chinese Young Photographer Promotion Awards are seen as shining a light to provide key support for the next generation of photographers. The program aims to discover creative young talent, seek out diverse video works, and gradually build a professional video display and promotion platform for young photographers with the help of the annual festival. This year, 10 young photographers stood out and won such prizes.

Zhang Guotian, art director of festival, addresses the awards ceremony. [Photo/Pingyao Rong Mei]

Since its inception 21 years ago, the annual photography festival has attracted the participation of over 50,000 photographers from more than 100 countries and regions, as well as visits by some 4.5 million tourists from home and abroad.