The 26th Pingyao International Photography Festival opened on September 19 in the Ancient City of Pingyao, Shanxi Province. A work created by students in Xi’an University of Technology’s Photography programme received the festival’s Outstanding College Work Award.
The award is a major distinction presented to participating higher education institutions, with only ten awards granted at each edition of the festival. This marks the 22nd such award won by XUT’s Photography programme since 2008, demonstrating the programme’s sustained achievements in enhancing professional education through creative practice and evaluating the effectiveness of talent development through high-level exhibitions.
During the festival, Guo Ruipeng, Party Secretary of the School of Art and Design, and Professors Zhang Hui and Peng Min from the Department of Intelligent Imaging Arts led undergraduate students from the 2023 Photography cohort and postgraduate students in attending the event. Through exhibitions, on-site visits and academic exchanges, the faculty and students gained a deeper understanding of current trends in contemporary photographic art. Their participation also highlighted the progress made by XUT’s Photography programme in talent development, visual creation and practice-based education.
This year’s festival brought together more than 2,600 photographers from 34 countries and regions, as well as 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across China. More than 20,000 photographic works were exhibited, together with over 200 works in emerging visual formats, including short videos, photography albums and handmade books. A total of 115 higher education institutions from China and abroad participated in the festival.
In recent years, XUT’s Photography programme has continued to integrate classroom instruction with thematic creative projects, professional exhibitions and academic exchanges, steadily enhancing students’ visual expression skills and artistic practice.
