Egyptian female photographer narrates 'Tales from China' via photo exhibition

"This photography exhibition introduces different details about China, such as their food, habits and traditions. It tells also details about nature and landscape. I like so much the photo showing the way to the Great Wall of China over there. I also like the central photo of the woman with a red umbrella," Hadad told Xinhua.

"The exhibition lets me know more about China from inside. Each photo talks itself," he continued. "I am impressed that the Chinese people preserve their culture, habits and traditions. They are not so much affected by globalization like others."

Another visitor, Amira Nour, a photographer of a magazine belonging to Egypt's largest state-run media foundation Al-Ahram, said that her profession urges her to attend various photo exhibitions, noting that she herself held an exhibition on China after her visit in 2013.

"I found that 'Tales from China' is so different in terms of the neat layout and method of display that take a visitor from one corner to another as if from one tale to another, moving from social life, habits and traditions to temples and architecture," she told Xinhua.

Besides people, the exhibition also displays many photos of unique Chinese landmarks, famous structures and tourist attractions, including the Forbidden City, the National Museum of China and the National Grand Theater in Beijing, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, the Kite Museum and railway station in Weifang, and the Thousand Buddha Cliff and Daming Lake in Jinan.

Fouad was recommended to the Chinese Cultural Center by award-winning Egyptian photographer Ayman Lotfy, who said that it was an advantage to get a country photographed by a different eye.

"Street photography is not easy as it is crowded and full of details and icons, but Fouad's eyes discovered China so neatly and calmly with so accurate components, and the cuts and angles make the photos look like enjoyable works of art that a visitor would like to get and hang at home," Lotfy told Xinhua at the exhibition.

China and Egypt have held several joint cultural activities including festivals, folklore performances, and art exhibitions to celebrate the growing bilateral relations and cultural exchanges since the two countries marked 2016 as the China-Egypt Cultural Year.

Chinese Cultural Counselor to Egypt Shi Yuewen, who attended the opening ceremony of the "Tale from China" exhibition, praised the photos as "artistically and vividly captured."

He said that Fouad took pictures of what caught her eyes in China, especially from her Egyptian and female perspectives.

"The exhibition effectively enhances the Egyptian people's understanding of modern China, which is vitally important to deepen the friendship between the two peoples," Shi told Xinhua.