On 19th August, the 2017 Dali International Photography Exhibition was unveiled at Dali and over 100 photography exhibitions around the world and more than 6,000 pieces of works made their appearances at the exhibition. Among these exhibitions, the Silk Road Journey “One Belt One Road”Photography Exhibition World Tour hosted by Reignwood Culture Foundation, affiliated to Reignwood Group, demonstrates the culture, humanity and history of the Maritime Silk Road, from the visual perspective of the great explorer Zheng He, whose hometown was Yunnan province, which makes it a highlight of this exhibition.
Six centuries ago, Zheng He, as a world-recognized mariner, diplomat, and peace emissary, led seven voyages to the western seas and for half a century, completed the largest-ever sailing trip with the furthest route, developing the Maritime Silk Road to its peak.
In 2015, during the visit of Dr. Chanchai, chairman of Reignwood Group, to America, he learned that the famous National Geographic Magazine photographer Michael Yamashita was the first photographer who had retraced the footsteps of Marco Polo and Zheng He along the Maritime and Land Silk Road. From the visual perspective of these two great explorers, Yamashita took seven years to finish shooting those precious 350 thousand photographs, acclaimed as the treasure of Silk Road Journey’s historical gallery, which vividly describe the evolution of nature and culture along this historical, economical, and cultural route of Land and Maritime Silk Road.
Since President Xi’s proposal of jointly building “One Belt One Road” in 2013, this initiative has got high attention from the international community. It is not only the strategic vision of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but also a bridge of pushing forward the peaceful development and common prosperity of countries along the Belt and Road.
Therefore, under the planning of Dr. Chanchai, since 2016, Reignwood Culture Foundation, in collaboration with the U.S. National Geographic Magazine, and Chinese Culture Promotion Society and other well-known institutions, has held the Silk Road Journey “One Belt One Road”Photography Exhibition World Tour twelve times in various countries and regions including China, USA, UK, and Singapore, etc., attracting more than 100 thousand viewers. This exhibition made its appearance at many major meetings including the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at Beijing, Hong Kong One Belt One Road Summit Forum, etc. It also serves as a bridge for culture exchange between the East and the West, promoting people to people exchange, playing an important role in people-to-people diplomacy. The exhibition has earned high praises from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the UK.
The Silk Road Exhibition was held at Dali International Photography exhibition, making Dali the 13th stop of its world tour, also a special stop because of the returning of Zhenghe’s visual journey through photography to his hometown Yunnan province. When the Silk Road Journey, which transcends time and space and presents the historically glorious Maritime Silk Road, meets the four great scenes of Dali: Wind, Flower, Snow and Moon, it will bring a whole new visual experience to local people in Dali and visitors from all around the world. In the second half of the year, this exhibition will tour many cities of China as well as Southeast Asia and other countries and regions.