The starting station of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Xu Lihua)

Many Chinese people feel that Africa is both far away and near, both familiar and strange. It's far away in terms of distance, but it feels closer because of the tradition of friendship between Africa and China. As more and more Chinese people travel to Africa, their understanding of the continent has changed.

Earlier this year, Zhejiang Normal University (ZNU) hosted the Travel in Africa Exhibition, displaying 107 photos selected from 470 submissions. Most of the photos were taken by the university's own teachers and scholars, who documented their research trips to Africa and understanding of the continent through the lenses of their cameras.

According to the exhibition's curator, Xu Liang, the exhibition was hosted with the aim of letting the public learn more about modern Africa and African people's lives through the images that were put on display.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania in March 2013, which, for middle-aged Chinese people, has brought back memories of the 1970s, when China helped build the Tanzania-Zambia Railway. In the eyes of Xu Lihua, Vice Dean of ZNU's College of International Education, the railway is a symbol of the traditional friendship between China and Africa.

University graduates (Liu Hongwu)

The progress and development of African society has also been recorded by Chinese scholars wielding cameras. In the past, people thought that the social status of women in Africa was low, and that many people on the continent were uneducated. But today, like Chinese women, African women's social status has changed, and they have more opportunities to attend school and pursue their dreams. Professor Liu Hongwu, Director of ZNU's Institute of African Studies, took a photo of some young female graduates when he attended a graduation ceremony during his visit to the Sudan University of Science and Technology in 2009.

Namibia Windhoek Central Primary School (Li Xu)

In addition, African countries have also paid a lot attention to children's education in recent years. African children now have more access to education and enjoy their time at school. When Li Xu, an associate research fellow at ZNU's College of International Education, was about to take a photo of some children who were chatting during a free period at Windhoek Central Primary School in Namibia, they started making faces. Li quickly clicked his camera's shutter to capture the moment. CA