Amazing China

Shortlisted photos will be displayed on london taxicabs

Entries in China Daily's "amazing China" contest for pictures taken with a mobile phone were "surprisingly good" in quality, according to Wang Wenlan, a renowned photographer and vice-president of the China Photographers Association.

Over 8,000 entries were received, mostly from Chinese residents, and a final shortlist of 60 has been selected.

As part of the promotion, 50 new Chinese-built London taxicabs will carry images selected from the shortlist around the British capital for a month, and screens on the escalators at Bank and Oxford Street underground stations in London will feature pictures from the competitors.

The taxis, made by the Geely-owned London Taxi Co, were unveiled at a launch ceremony in London's Chinatown, attended by Hu Pinghua, wife of Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK. She told the crowd that the organizers had picked the right time for the contest, since it coincided with the state visit of President Xi Jinping to the UK.

The contest is also co-sponsored by Geely and Wendy Wu Tours, and the winners will receive prizes that include the use in China of a top-of-the-range Geely GC9 luxury sedan, as well as the chance of a trip for two, expenses paid, to China.

There will be 30 awards in six categories, each category having one winner, two second-place entries and two third-place finishers.

An exhibition of the shortlist entries will tour cities in China and an album of the best pictures is being assembled.

Wendy Wu, owner of Wendy Wu Tours, told China Daily: "The photo contest no doubt has improved British people's understanding of Chinese people and Chinese culture, and it will definitely attract more people to travel around China.

"We have some British people who travel many times with us, and they are all astonished by the change that has happened in China."

She said many of the entries showed the beauty of rural villages in China.

The contest, which was hosted by China Daily and organized by China Daily UK, was curated and produced by ChinaLink (London) Ltd and endorsed by the cultural office of the Chinese embassy in the UK.

Qiu Yue contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 10/30/2015 page4)