The opening ceremony of the 13th China Photography Festival held on December 20, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 13th China Photography Festival and the City of Swan - the 4th China Sanmenxia Natural Ecology International Photography Exhibition opened Sunday in Sanmenxia, Central China's Henan province.

During the festival, a series of exhibitions such as the poverty alleviation photography exhibition and an exhibition themed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic will be launched, showing 4,000 works by more than 1,100 photographers and presenting a wonderful visual feast for all the audience.

In 2018, the 12th China Photography Festival was successfully held in Sanmenxia for the first time, said Liu Nanchang, party chief of Sanmenxia, adding that since 2016, with the strong support of the Chinese Photographers Association, Sanmenxia has held three consecutive sessions of China Sanmenxia Natural Ecology International Photography Exhibition, creating a brand of Sanmenxia's international photography exhibition for natural wonders.

With the joint efforts of the China Photographers Association and the Sanmenxia government, it is expected that China's contemporary photographic culture can be enriched through exchanges and integration during the festival, said Li Ge, chairman of the China Photographic Association.

In recent years, Sanmenxia has been vigorously developing the photography industry and speeding up the construction of China's photography culture center, according to Liu.

During the opening ceremony, the Golden Statue Award Ceremony for China Photography was also held. 19 photographers were awarded three categories of awards respectively, including documentary photography, artistic photography and commercial photography.

Founded in 1989, the China Photography Festival is the earliest photography festival in China with a lasting attention and a wide range of influence, playing an important role in leading creation, recommending talents, and promoting exchanges.

This year's festival was co-hosted by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Publicity Department of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee and China Photographers Association.