Entries in the first international press photo contest hosted by China will begin being evaluated in Shenzhen on Monday (March 21st).

Judges for the China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP) arrived from home and abroad Sunday and will choose the best works this week.

Sponsored by the Press Photography Society of China, the Shenzhen Association for Cultural Exchange and the Shenzhen Press Group, the contest is the first of its kind in China aimed at establishing an international brand name for press photography.

"There are the well-known Pulitzer Photography Prize in the United States and World Photo Press awards in the Netherlands, and there will be one more influential international photo contest in China," said Hu Ying, secretary general of the organizing committee.

Since the contest was launched last September, it had attracted more than 23,000 works from 76 nations in the past six months, including the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Iraq and South Korea. The world's major news agencies such as Reuters and AFP have also sent entries. The photos feature environment, culture and social life, but they all share a common theme of peace and development.

The prompt and extensive response from worldwide photographers indicated a good start for CHIPP.

The Oriental perspective would unavoidably become a cornerstone of the evaluation criteria, Hu said. However, it would pay no less attention to the common ground of international photography to make the contest a world event, Hu said.

He hoped more foreigners would be prizewinners. "It will be a failure if CHIPP awards are shared only by Chinese," said Hu.

Vincent Mentzel from the Netherlands was the first to arrive in the city. A member of the executive board of the World Press Photo Contest, Mentzel gave an overview of Chinese press photos.

"It is a trend that many Chinese press photographers are starting to depict the relics and heritages on the verge of extinction, which are very unique and impressive."

The other six foreign jury members include American Maryanne Golon, the photo editor of Times Weekly, and Miguel Angel Larrea, the director of Chile National Photography Institute.

Fourteen prizes in seven categories will be awarded. Each prize consists of gold, silver and bronze prizes and every category will include one single and one series entrants. The top award for the Best Press Photo of 2004 will ultimately emerge from the above prizes. The results will be announced March 25.

Editor: Catherine