
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan, to give publicity to preservation of World Cultural and Natural Heritages, and to enhance cultural exchanges between China and Japan, the CPAFFC held \"Zhou Jiansheng's World Heritage Photo Exhibition\" at the Friendship Hall in the CPAFFC compound from November 18 to 22, 2003.
On display were 80 photographs Mr. Zhou Jiansheng took in 67 countries and regions of World Cultural and Natural Heritages registered at the UNESCO.
Mr. Zhou is a professional photographer residing in Japan. In 1988, he was admitted to the Fine Arts Department of Nihon University and specialized in photography. He entered Tama Art University in Tokyo in 1990, and obtained the M.A. degree in 1992. He is now special photographer with the Pacific Press Service in Japan.
In 1994, Mr. Zhou began his ambitious world tour, a grand program of taking photographs of World Heritages, the natural and cultural treasures shared by mankind. In eight years, he traveled in 77 countries and regions all on his own, and the distance he covered was equal to 30 circles around the earth. From the Arctic Circle to Cape of Good Hope, the most renowned World Cultural and Natural Heritages have been shot by his camera. His superb artistry clearly expresses his deep love for World Heritages.

The opening ceremony was held on November 18 at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC. Present at the ceremony were Su Guang, vice president of the CPAFFC, Gao Zhanxiang, chairman of the Chinese National Culture Promotion Association, Wang Xiaoxian, vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Association, Zhang Aiping, deputy director general of the Bureau for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries under the Ministry of Culture, Yu Jian, secretary of the CPC Committee of the Chinese Photographers' Association, Xu Xiaobing, former president of the Chinese Photographers' Association, and his wife well-known photographer Hou Bo, Wang Wenlan, vice president of the Chinese Photographers' Association, Khek Lerang, Cambodian ambassador to China, Kunihiko Miyake, minister of the Japanese Embassy in China, diplomats from some African countries, Yoichi Kondo, chief representative of Fuji Film Co. Ltd. in China, and personages from the cultural, art and press circles in Beijing. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu sent a message of congratulations to the exhibition. He said in the message: \"With increasingly frequent international exchanges, World Heritages have been widely known to the people of all countries, and become shared wealth of mankind. We believe this exhibition will help the Chinese and Japanese audience achieve a better understanding of World Heritages, and therefore enhance our consciousness toward the preservation of our natural environment and cultural relics. \"