Liu Haiyan, the former Vice Mayor of Beijing Municipality congratulates Francisco Little at the photo award ceremony (FENG HONG)

On the evening of December 15, 2010, Francisco Little, ChinAfrica' s Assistant Executive Editor, a South African who has worked with Beijing Review publications for over seven years, received the runner-up award at a ceremony of the photographic contest entitled "People's Beijing in the Eyes of Foreign Friends" in Beijing.

Little's photographic work Raise Your Voice, which captures the local choral music lovers at Beijing's Temple of Heaven Park, stands out among a total of over 3,000 entries submitted by around 190 photographers from over 50 countries and regions.

"The contest creates a comprehensive photographic record of Beijing's history, culture, the local residents' lives and the city's fast changes in the eyes of foreigners," Li Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice President of Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (BPAFFC) told ChinAfrica, a monthly magazine published by Beijing Review.

After Beijing successfully hosted the Olympic Games in 2008, the concepts of its theme "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics" have been integrated into the city's long-term mechanism of construction and management. While this year's photographic competition focuses on "People's Beijing," the themes of the next two years will be "Green Beijing" and "High-tech Beijing," according to Li.

The photo contest is jointly organized by BPAFFC and eight other organizations. Currently, the award-winning works are on display at Beijing's Capital Museum.

As the organizing committee prepares for the next year's event, Li hopes the 2011 competition can draw an even bigger group of foreign photographers.