Francisco Little with his photo award at the "Beautiful Beijing in the Eyes of Foreign Friends Photo Contest 2013" ceremony

For South African photojournalist Francisco Little, the beauty of Beijing lies in its peace and tranquility, which is usually hidden behind the city bustle. It's best captured by his image of a peaceful corner at the Forbidden City during a snowfall in Beijing in 2011.

Little's image, titled Peaceful Corner, went on to win second prize at the "Beautiful Beijing in the Eyes of Foreign Friends Photo Contest 2013."

"I was about to leave the famous venue after a snowfall when I passed by this corner and was at once struck by the harmonious contrasts of the rusty red walls, green tree branches and white snow," he recalled. "It was a natural peaceful presentation that summed up for me the often hidden beauty of the Chinese capital."

"Peaceful Corner" (Photo by Francisco Little)

Peaceful Corner stands out among a total of 4,168 photos submitted by participants from 57 countries. After a lengthy period of strict evaluation from a team of judges, first, second and third prizes were selected from the top 300 photos.

In addition, Little also won the first place for the year 2010 in online voting for excellent "Beijing in the Eyes of Foreign Friends" photos.

Expat photographers received their awards from the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries at a ceremony held in mid December, 2013. The winning images are displayed at a photo exhibition in the city.

The photo contest was first organized in 2009, and since then it has already seen five successive editions. Little, Africa Managing Editor ofChinAfrica, the leading monthly magazine on Sino-African affairs published by Beijing Review, also received the second and third prize at this photo contest in 2010 and 2012 respectively.