“The place where the white swan stay is the river of light in our heart ...”

Sanmenxia, an old and young city, is a bright pearl in the arm of the Yellow River, the mother river of the Chinese nation. The magnificence of the northern mountains and the beauty of the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River reflect each other here and the profound historical accumulation and modern civilization achievements collide and fuse here. Sanmenxia is where the Yangshao culture, the Yellow Emperor Culture, Laozi Culture, Guo State Culture and the surname of Guo originate and where the spiritual embodiment of the Chinese nation, the pillar in midstream stands. The honorary titles of the City of Gold, the Yellow River Pearl, the Holy Land in Culture and the City of Swan make Sanmenxia well-known both at home and abroad.

In recent years, Sanmenxia municipal Party committee and government have thoroughly implemented the ecological civilization spirits of Xi Jinping, adhered to the strategy of “ecological city building” and vigorously carried out the ecological protection, treatment and restoration projects guided by the major national strategy of the ecology protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin. 108 kilometers of green nets along the Yellow River, 216,000 acres of wetland, and the splendid scenery of 206 kilometers of clear water of the Yellow River have been completed. The ecological environment quality of Sanmenxia continues to improve. Currently, the forest coverage rate of Sanmenxia ranks first in Henan Province and 99% territory area has been built into the “natural oxygen bar”. Green mountains and rivers attract fairy guests. Every winter, tens of thousands of white swans fly from Siberia to spend their winter, becoming beautiful scenery. Therefore, Sanmenxia is known as “the hometown of the white swan in China”.

Pictures are the fossils of time, which freeze the most vivid moments and the most memorable years. The white swan is an elf in the water and a fairy in the world, forming a beautiful picture of the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. It is destined to be an extraordinary encounter when beauty meets beauty. As soon as the white swan meets photography, splendid art feasts are put on. Since 2016, with the great support of the China Photographers Association, we have held the “Sanmenxia China the White Swan·Wild Animals International Photography Festival” for three successive times. Especially in 2018, the 12th China Photography Festival was held successfully. The amount of participating photographers, exhibited works, visitors and the click of online topics reached a record, causing heated responses in both domestic and international photography circles. Sanmenxia was named the 7th “Hometown of Photography in China” by the China Photographers Association.

Cooperate with the great project with the media of the white swan and write magnificent works with focused lenses. On December 20th this year, the grand open of the 13th China Photography Festival cum the 4th City of Swan - Sanmenxia China International Photography Exhibition of Natural Ecology was held. At the same time, the future four China Photography Festivals will also be held in Sanmenxia. We will focus our efforts on the construction of a “Cultural City”, gather the power of the city to be a good host, welcome guests from across the world and cooperate with the great art project with full enthusiasm, professional service, and perfect image. Dear photographers, please focus on this beautiful land, freeze the green mountains and waters, capture the essence of history, feel the simple folk customs, capture the heart-stopping moments, retain the memory of light and shadow and create more excellent artworks to help Sanmenxia become the spiritual sacred place of photography masses, the highland of photography art and culture and the important place of photography cultural industry in China. Let the photography art shine more brightly in the Xiaohan area in the new era!