The 2003 Pingyao International Photography Festival will be held from September 16 to 22 in Pingyao, an ancient city in North China's Shanxi Province, known for its history that stretches back 3,000 years and its unique architecture.

With the theme of "Life and Culture," the annual event will include photography exhibitions, contests and forums. The works by photographers from different countries and of various styles will be featured.

So far, the organizers have set up more than 90 exhibitions and among them, 20 are by photographers from France, the United States, Britain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Republic of Korea and Portugal.

Many pictures have never been exhibited in China before, such as Belgian photographer Salgado Sebastiao's "The Other Americans" and British photographer Parr Marin's "Tokyo Sleeping."

The domestic photographers' exhibitions will also be attractive. The highlights include "Wutai" by Shao Hua, president of the Chinese Photographers' Association, "The Kingdom of the Bicycles" by Wang Wenlan, vice-president of the association, "Mao Zedong, the Great Man" by Lu Houmin, "Fighting against SARS" by He Yanguang, "The Three Gorges Project" by a group of young photographers and a series of exhibits featuring traditional Chinese culture and customs.

In addition, the Pingyao International Photography Museum will open with two solo exhibitions by renowned photographers Sha Fei and Wu Yinxian.

Alongside the exhibitions, the organizers will hold four forums with the themes of documentary, architecture, figures and sightseeing.

Supporting the high-profile photography festival for the second year, cosmetics company L'Oreal has established the "L'Oreal Best Chinese Contemporary Photographer Award."

A jury composed of famous Chinese and foreign photographers will select three top awards among all of the Chinese photographers.

The co-sponsor Alcatel will bestow the "Alcatel Chinese Photographer's Album Prize." An international jury will choose the three best albums among about 100 on a short list.

The winning works of the two awards will be on the display in France in February, as part of the 2004 China-France Cultural Year.

This will be an occasion for Chinese contemporary photographers to reach a world audience in terms of culture and art, and an opportunity for the world to appreciate the charm and brilliance of Chinese photography.

All of the photographers attending the Pingyao event are welcome to take photos of the local culture and sightseeing areas as part of the "New Century, New Shanxi" photography contest.

The festival will also launch a website at www.eladies.com in order to attract more photographers, give people a virtual access to photo arts.

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