Photo exhibition showcases Shanxi’s culture and history |21 October 2011

Led by the President of the Shanxi Association of Photographers, Mr Yue Wang, the 12 photographers were in Seychelles between October 7 and 14 to shoot photographs of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue for an exhibition to be organised by the Seychelles embassy in China, to be held during the Seychelles Week in Beijing, and later in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, in 2012, to promote Seychelles in the People’s Republic of China.

Their exhibition in Seychelles, entitled Mountain and Water, depicted scenes of cultural and historical importance. The Province of Shanxi has a very long history and is considered as a cradle of Chinese civilisation.

Two Unesco World Heritage Sites located in Shanxi are particularly important: the Yungang Buddhist grottoes in Datong which depicts more than 51,000 statues; and the ancient city of Pingyao. Both sites give visitors the impression of travelling back in time.

Shanxi’s attraction for tourists is also attributed to its vibrant culture, which includes a variety of local operas and folk arts.

The exhibition in Seychelles also featured eight photographs of Seychelles, entitled Air, Earth and Timelessness, by the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Seychelles, Wang Weiguo. This exhibition will also form part of the Seychelles Week in Beijing and Taiyuan exhibitions in 2012.

The official opening of the exhibition here took place on Monday last week at La Bastille, where a number of guests had turned up, including cabinet ministers, principal secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps, local artists and photography enthusiasts.

Speaking to those present at the event, the Minister for Social Development and Culture Bernard Shamlaye welcomed the delegation and thanked them for such an initiative.

“Through these beautiful photographs, people in Seychelles will get to know more about Shanxi and its people and I am sure this will kindle their desire to know more,” he said.

“I hope that it will also inspire Seychellois who have an interest in photography to come together to promote this art in our country.”

Mr Shamlaye said the Shanxi photographers are rendering Seychelles a great service by increasing its visibility in China.

“It’s interesting to note that over a hundred years ago, it was a photographer from another east Asian country – Samuel Ohashi from Japan – who took some of the earliest photographs we have of Seychelles,” he said.

The exhibition at La Bastille was jointly sponsored by the Culture Department, the Seychelles embassy in Beijing, the National Arts Council of Seychelles, and the Seychelles Tourism Board.