Fifty one foreign photographers are showing their own perceptions of the Tibet Autonomous Region through their pictures in a photographic exhibition that opened in Beijing Thursday, in a bid to mark the region's 40th founding anniversary.

The 51 overseas photographers, together with more than 40 mainland photographers, a month ago were invited to shoot Tibet for ten days.

"Visiting Tibet made me very excited," said Delattre Georges, a French photographer of International Federation of Photographers, "Before I came to Tibet, I had thought that Tibet was backward and underdeveloped. But to my surprise, it is quite modern in many aspects."

Many of the foreign shutterbugs share Georges' view. Schools, factories, and telecommunication systems became their subjects, fully reflecting "Tibet's development in course of modernization," added Georges.

"Words like 'marvelous' and 'unbelievable' are often heard from them." said Ren Shugao, a staff of the CPA who accompanied them through the trip.

"Tibet is rich with cultural heritage", said Shao Hua, president of China Photographers Association (CPA), the co-organizer of the exhibition. "But it is relatively inaccessible to foreigners. That's why we invited them."

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2005)