Over the weekend, "Photo Beijing 2017" opened at the China Millennium Monument on the city's west side. The special photography week has been held every October since 2013. This year, organizers turned the lens toward the countries of the ancient Silk Road.

Highlighting this year’s Photo Beijing is a special exhibition entitled: Silk Road Landscape and the World Heritage.

Sixty works by photographers from both home and abroad offer a comprehensive reflection on the social life, folk customs, natural landscapes and heritages of the Silk Road countries.

Zhu Hongyu, deputy director the Photo Beijing Organization Committee said:"At this year’s event, we’re launching a photo competition especially designed for teens from countries along the ancient Silk Road, to use their sense and capture the people and the culture. It’s the first of its kind in the country, and we hope to offer a platform for the younger generation to express themselves, and let different cultures collide and communicate. Photography is the universal language; it transcends national boundaries and language barriers."

Since 2013, the event has brought in more than 1,000 photographers and 30 prestigious organizations to Beijing, representing more than 30 countries and regions. This encourages different kinds of thinking and seeing different cultural values firsthand.

Photo Beijing 2017 has signed deals with major photography events in Italy, Ukraine and Brazil to increase communication between industry professionals.

The three guest countries have also brought some of their finest photo collections.

Claudio Argentiero, founder of the Euro Photo Festival said:"Photography offers an insight into history and that's our focus this year. We've brought three exhibitions to Beijing to show the Italian landscape and life. Next year in March, we'll bring Chinese photographers to Italy in an exchange of cultural values and images, as part of the agreement and friendship we have with Photo Beijing."

Photo Beijing's exhibitions, lectures, and other special activities will run til October 22.‍