Photo Beijing 2023, the 11th iteration of the annual photography week, kicked off at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing on Saturday, with a red carpet, speeches, signing ceremonies and live performances.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, this year's events include 11 exhibitions displaying more than 2,000 photos, and 13 forums, all of which run until Sunday.

Under the theme of "Image: Countryside — Symbiosis", Photo Beijing 2023 focuses on nine main topics, including rural development, the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Yang Yuanxing, president of Photo Beijing 2023's organizing committee and honorary president of the China Artistic Photography Society, introduced this year's key activities in his speech at the opening ceremony.

According to Yang, from its initiation, Photo Beijing has organized 440 exhibitions and more than 240 forums, attracting in excess of 15,000 photographers and 270 organizations from nearly 100 countries and regions to participate, as well as reaching an audience of over 300 million people.

"Over the past decade, with the China Millennium Monument as its main venue, Photo Beijing has collaborated with domestic and international cultural institutions, making full use of its geographic, platform, content, and communication advantages to plan and organize a series of excellent photography-based cultural events," Yang says.

"From 2023, standardization, market orientation and high-quality implementation have become the new key objectives for Photo Beijing."

The recurring exhibitions, such as the Silk Road Youth International Photography Exhibition and the Exhibitions of Presidents of Photography Societies From Ten Countries, have enjoyed a wider global reach, receiving increasing submissions.

This year, with the goal of preserving traditional Chinese culture, the Exhibition of Chinese Rice-Farming Culture Images was launched to showcase China's agricultural heritage and its role in promoting tourism development.

An exhibition, Cultural Heritage in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, was hosted earlier this year to support the area's coordinated development.

To facilitate cultural exchange and communication among photographers, the Cross-Strait Invitational Exhibition of Prominent Photographers has been opened to the public as part of Photo Beijing.

Another key section of the event is its serial forum discussions that aim to enhance international academic exchange in photography and explore the new trends in photography art and its relevant industries.

This year's forums continue to combine in-person events with livestreams. Photography artists, curators, experts and scholars are invited to engage in discussions on topics including visual arts, rural vitalization, integration of culture and tourism, global cultural and agricultural heritage, as well as aesthetic education for teenagers.

Representatives from The International Federation of Photographic Art, which has collaborated with Photo Beijing for a decade, attended the opening ceremony.

The organization's president Riccardo Busi said in his speech that the themed exhibitions curated by Photo Beijing, especially those centered on world heritage and youth in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, help promote cultural understanding and bridge communities from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the event's international vision.

"Given the profound synergy and shared vision between our organizations, I genuinely hope and anticipate that our collaboration will persist for many more years. Through the evocative power of images, we aspire to further the growth of photography and nurture friendships among photographers across the globe," Busi says.

The opening ceremony also included signing ceremonies for cooperation agreements among Photo Beijing and international photography organizations, as well as an agreement to jointly promote the cultural heritage in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Certificates were given out to the event's expert consultants and curators, as well as artists invited to participate in the 2023 Silk Road Youth International Photography Exhibition, Young Artists Invitation Exhibition and the Cross-Strait Invitational Exhibition of Prominent Photographers.

Zhao Yingxin, artistic director of the event's organizing committee, announced that the theme for Photo Beijing 2024 is "Image: Life — Eternity", which will call for submissions in nine sections, including world heritage and urban landmarks.