Francisco Little with his Award of Excellence at the “Beijing’s New Image in the Eyes of Foreign Friends Photo Contest 2016” (LIU JIAN)  

For South African multi-award winning photojournalist Francisco Little, a new and modern Beijing still retains its old face, and city dwellers are free to enjoy their traditional pastimes in the concrete jungle. This feeling is best captured by his picture of three senior citizens playing dominos at the Temple of Heaven on a Sunday morning, taken while he was visiting there in 2015.   

Little’s image, titled Domino Men, won the Award of Excellence at the “Beijing’s New Image in the Eyes of Foreign Friends Photo Contest 2016.” 

“The central figure’s serious face and bushy eyebrows caught my eyes as he was in contrast with his laughing friend who kept shouting instructions,” Little recalled. “The stern-faced man on the right looked like Father Time himself and seemed to be the judge deciding the outcome of the game.”  

Francisco Little’s image Domino Men wins the Award of Excellence at the photo contest (BY COURTESY OF FRANCISCO LITTLE) 

“I have tried to use an angle that allows the viewer to feel they are part of the game - an insider’s voyeuristic view into a new Beijing that sometimes retains its old face,” he told ChinAfrica.  

Domino Men stands out among a total of over 3,600 photos submitted by participants from 77 countries. After a lengthy period of evaluation from a team of judges, first, second and third prizes, and the awards of excellence were selected from the top 300 images. 

Expat photographers received their awards from the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries at a ceremony held on December 15, 2016.  

The photo contest was first organized in 2009, and since then it has already seen eight successive editions. Little, Assistant Executive Editor of ChinAfrica, the leading monthly magazine on Sino-African affairs published by Beijing Review, also received the first, second and third prize at this photo contest in 2014, 2013 and 2012 respectively.