Pingyao, a 2,700-year-old town in North China's Shanxi Province, was a perfect combination of old and new, East and West during the 2003 Pingyao International Photography Festival, which ran from September 15 to 22.

More then 180 photographers from both home and abroad exhibited their colourful works on a variety of themes on the city walls, ancient gate towers and other special venues during this period.

"I'm not amazed by the quality of the exhibitions. What has really amazed me is the variety of the themes and the venues the curators choose," said photographer Mark Bussell from New York, when he was perusing the exhibits in the old cotton textile mill.

Many ancient buildings, including the Town God's Temple and the Confucius Temple, were used during the festival.

While photographers and tourists were impressed by the festival and the abundance of rich local culture in the area, the locals also enjoyed the exhibits.

"I love these photos. It's good to hold these free exhibits, which are really eye-opening," said 66-year-old Cui Yongweng, in the warehouse exhibit.

Cui was captivated by photographer Xie Hailong's "Hope Project" and took some photos of the series with his own camera.

The retired teacher from the Pingyao Technology Training School has been a shutterbug since he was young, and has taken part in the festival consistently since it started two years ago.

Huo Wei, a construction major with Shanxi Vocational School, said: "Photography is one of my subjects, so I came to learn something from the photos by the veteran photographers. And I particularly like Hou Dengke's documentary works."

The L'Oreal Best Chinese Contemporary Photographer Award was presented on September 17.

Photographer Hei Ming from the Beijing-based magazine China Youth won the golden award with his "Shaolin Monks." The second and third prize went to Lu Guang's "AIDS Village" and Yan Changjing's "Zoo in the Night."

Wu Dongjun's "Survivor" which catches the moment when a miner comes out of a mine shaft, won the L'Oreal Award for the True Love Moment.

"It's difficult to evaluate all these exhibits in such a limited time," said jury member Claudine Maugendre, an art director and consultant from Paris.

"The 'Monks' impressed me at the first sight. They look so happy and very different from what one imagines. Hei Ming catches the true life of the Shaolin monks in a personal way."

Hei Ming started the Monks series of photos in 2000. He spent one year living with the monks in the Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan Province for a year, interviewing all the monks, making friends with them, teaching them photography.

Later, he took photos for 30 of them, allowing them to pose as they liked. One is seen making a call with a cellphone, another is eating an apple while another is reading a magazine.

"Like many people outside the temple, I had not expected that they live almost the same life as we do before I lived there. They learn Buddhist doctrines and martial arts, as well as the common knowledge we learn," said the photographer.

(China Daily September 26, 2003)