China / China

Prize-winning images capture the human spirit

(China Daily) Updated: 2011-03-27 10:36

Category: Economy Science & Technology News Singles - The Long March 2F rocket(CZ-3C) carrying Chang'e-2 satellite is successfully launched at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center. [Photo by Shi Wei / Wuhan Morning Post]

Category: Non-war disaster Singles - 20-year-old Gongga tries to comfort his weeping wife Zhuoga on April 17, Zhuoga's aunt died in the Yushu earthquake. [Photo by Zhang Hongwei / Huashang Daily]

Category: Daily life singles - Pakistani mentally disabled youth Gilli asks for food as other inhabitants eat in the corridor of the Edhi Home in Karachi on Feb 24. The Edhi Foundation is the largest welfare organization in Pakistan with over 300 centers across the country - in big cities, small towns and remote rural areas - providing medical aid, family planning and emergency assistance. [Photo by Behrouz Mehri / AFP]

Category: War & Disaster News Singles - The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July following heavy monsoon rains. At one point, one fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater and the floods affected the lives of 20 million people. The photo captures a scene when victims try to grab a helicopter that is delivering food. [Photo by Adrees Latif / Reuters]

Category: Sports singles - The hair of Victoria Azarenka of Belarus flies as she serves in her quarterfinal match against Serena Williams of the United States during the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Jan 27 in Melbourne, Australia. [Photo by Scott Barbour / Getty Images]

Award-winning images from the 7th China International Press Photo Contest capture a year of human spirit.

From earthquake-hit Yushu to flood-ravaged Pakistan, to

wartorn Afghanistan, photographers and their cameras stand and witness the moments that change lives and history, and provide a powerful record of what they see.

It's time to honor their bravery and passion again.

The seventh China International Press Photo Contest (CIPPC), an annual competition organized by China Photo Journalism Society, ended Friday in Nantong, Jiangsu province, with the announcement of award-winning pictures in eight categories.

CIPPC invited 13 international judges to select the most outstanding pictures from among 38,000 photographs taken by 3,300 photo journalists and photographers from 70 countries and regions.

More than 60 percent of the photo entries are from foreign competitors, which shows "the influence and internality of the contest", according to the judging committee.

"Yushu Farewell Relatives", by Zhang Hongwei with Huashang Daily in northwest China, has won the highest honor: Picture of the Year.

Zhao Derui, chairman of the judging committee, said the award-winning images display the drama of human society, the desire for peace and development, and the struggle against wars and disasters.

In an effort to fight against faked photos, the award-winners will be publicized for two weeks to get a critical review from the media and the public.

The winning photos have the kind of power the artist Pablo Picasso recognized when he said: "I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else to learn."