The ICOMOS International Conservation Center-Xi'an (IICC-X) organized the first photographic exhibition of "the Silk Roads: Beauty of the World Cultural Heritage" in 2018. The exhibition has built a platform for photographers to exchange their understandings and beauty scenes about the Silk Roads. Through vivid images of the Silk Roads world heritage, this exhibition aimed at promoting the Silk Roads culture, drawing public attention to ancient civilizations and spreading the culture and stories on the Silk Roads. The event was hosted by the IICC-X and co-organized by Shaanxi Pictorial Press, the Shaanxi Digital Photo Center and the Daming Palace National Heritage Park. On the morning of October 10, the opening ceremony of the photographic exhibition was held in the sunny courtyard of the Daming Palace Exchange Center. At the opening ceremony, Feng Jian, deputy director of the IICC-X, briefly introduced the collection and selection of photographs and sincerely thanked the co-organizers for their support. Wu Chun, director of the Daming Palace Cultural Relics Bureau, on behalf of the Daming Palace National Heritage Park, warmly welcomed the photographic exhibition held at the World Heritage Site Daming Palace. She acknowledged that photographic works are the most intuitive means to publicize the World Heritage; she also appreciated IICC-X’s efforts in displaying and publicizing the World Heritage Site. Wang Tianen, president of Shaanxi Pictorial Press, wished this event success and said that the Press will strengthen its cooperation with the IICC-X and Daming Palace in the future, to collect and select more exquisite photos and display them in diversified forms, showing the beauty of nature, relics and humanities of the world heritage. At the end of the ceremony, the guests cut the ribbon for the official opening of the exhibition. The photographic exhibition invited four experts to form a jury: Zhan Changfa, secretary-general of the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation, and an expert and researcher on cultural heritage conservation; Yang Lei, planning director of the Library Division of Chinese National Geography and project manager of the album of "Supreme Beauty: the Silk Roads"; Sun Zhijun, director of the Network Center of the Dunhuang Research Institute, an associate researcher of the Dunhuang Research Institute, director of the Cultural Relics Photography Committee of the China Cultural Relics Academy, and a member of China Photographers Association; Xue Bo, art director of Shaanxi Pictorial Press and the Shaanxi Digital Photo Center. Conducting evaluation from the perspective of the Silk Roads cultural heritage and the aesthetics of photography, after careful consideration and discussion, the four judges eventually selected 150 award-winning works from 2,370 photos collected. Among them, 5 pieces have won the first prize, 10 pieces second prize, and 135 award of merit. The whole process was conducted under the supervision of a third-party public notary. These outstanding works record the beauty of the Silk Roads from the past to the present, centering on the five themes of heritage, scenery, humanities, architecture, and photographic art. From desert to grassland, from nomadic culture to Buddhism, from economy to culture, the photos integrate the scenes of the world cultural heritage sites with intangible culture, fully demonstrating the beauty of heritage, the beauty of the Silk Roads, and the beauty of fusion and communication. The exhibition will be held from October 10 to 23 in the Cultural Exchange Center of Xi’an Daming Palace National Heritage Park, open to public for free.
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