A girl uses her cellphone to snap a photo for her friend at one of the 13th Pingyao Micro-Film Festival exhibition halls, on Sept 20.

A visitor takes pictures at the 13th China Pingyao International Photography Festival in Pingyao, Shanxi province, Sept 19. The exhibition, with the theme of "Life in Photography", will held here from Sept 19 to 25.

The 13th Pingyao International Photography Festival opened on Thursday in Pingyao ancient town of Shanxi province. The festival welcomed more than 1,600 professional and amateur photographers from 32 countries, representing over 12,000 photos of various styles and genres.

This year’s festival is themed “Life in Photography,” responding to the theme “Returning and Exceeding” from last year. The festival involves diverse activities ranging from photography exhibitions to awarding ceremonies for excellent photos and books. It will also host master forums, summits and academic activities.

The festival features exhibitions showcasing how photography is merging into daily life and thus influencing the entire population. It displays photographs from countries such as Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico and Sweden.

The Pingyao International Photography Festival was established in 2001. Over the past 12 years, the event attracted an increasing number of master photographers from all over the world. This year, several internationally renowned photographers – such as Roger Ballen who resides in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Drew Gardner from London – also came to Pingyao for the related exhibitions and activities.

Edited by Lin Hong and Michael Thai