On a Monday in late October, a photo exhibition about the shared human threads running through Asia opened in Shenzhen, a city that will soon host the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The show, Changing Asia, gathers ninety-seven images by photographers from across the region and beyond, asking viewers to look past headlines and see the ordinary gestures of hands clasped and smiles exchanged. Its arrival before next month's formal gathering suggests a quieter counterpart to diplomacy, where understanding is built through images rather than communiqués.
Changing Asia Photo Exhibition Opens in Shenzhen Ahead of APEC Leaders' Meeting
A silent dialogue between the people portrayed and those viewing the images
Mark
Why does a photo show matter ahead of a leaders' meeting?
Mimi
Organizers frame it as a cultural companion to the summit. Bill Condon said it opens a chance for dialogue outside the formal meetings.
Mark
How selective was it?
Mimi
More than 2,200 entries from 330 photographers; 97 works by 54 photographers from 17 countries and regions made it.
Luke
Worth noting those numbers come from the organizers, and we don't know who judged or on what criteria. "Rigorous" is their word.
Mark
What did the photographers say?
Mimi
Giacomini said photographs create a silent dialogue between subjects and viewers. His Kumbh Mela images were chosen.
Luke
That's one photographer's view. The report doesn't say how visitors in general responded.
Mark
And the visitors quoted?
Mimi
Nay Min Thu, a Myanmar student, liked Shirkoo Mamagha's images of nomadic communities in Iran and said photos should hold stories.
Luke
One student is a pleasant detail, not evidence of broad impact. Attendance figures aren't given.
Il Polso
- A major regional summit is weeks away, and Shenzhen is preparing to receive its guests with cultural gestures as well as policy agendas.
- Over 2,200 submissions from 330 photographers were winnowed down to a tight selection, making every frame a deliberate statement.
- Organizers and officials are framing the show as soft power, using photography to carry the message of shared prosperity across borders.
- The exhibition runs only through Friday at CUHK's Shenzhen campus, so its window for reaching visitors is brief before the leaders arrive.
On a Monday in late October, a photo exhibition about the shared human threads running through Asia opened in Shenzhen, a city that will soon host the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The show, Changing Asia, gathers ninety-seven images by photographers from across the region and beyond, asking viewers to look past headlines and see the ordinary gestures of hands clasped and smiles exchanged. Its arrival before next month's formal gathering suggests a quieter counterpart to diplomacy, where understanding is built through images rather than communiqués.
On Monday, a photo exhibition on cultural and people-to-people exchange across Asia opened in Shenzhen, just ahead of the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting the city will host next month. Titled Changing Asia and co-organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network, the show runs through Friday at the Shenzhen Research Institute of the Chinese University of Hong Kong under the theme "Moments of Connection: Smiles and Hands Across Asia-Pacific."
Liu Weiling, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, called it a cultural exchange event within APEC's "China Year," tied to this year's theme of building an Asia-Pacific community to prosper together. Hong Kong's deputy chief secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing added that the photographs speak of the region's development without needing words.
The exhibition has traveled before, debuting in Bangkok in 2022, moving to Jakarta in 2023 and going online in 2024. This year's 97 selected works by 54 photographers from 17 countries and regions were drawn from more than 2,200 entries.
Among the contributors is Italian documentary photographer Emanuele Giacomini, whose images of the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj capture spontaneous human connection across cultural and religious lines. Bill Condon of Our Hong Kong Foundation praised the work and saw in it a chance for dialogue beyond the formal meetings. A Myanmar student, Nay Min Thu, found himself moved by the stories behind the pictures, including scenes of nomadic life in Iran, and came away believing photographs should carry stories.
On Monday, a photo exhibition about cultural and people-to-people exchange across Asia opened in Shenzhen, in South China. It arrives just ahead of the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, which the city is hosting next month.
The show, called Changing Asia, is co-organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network. It runs through Friday at the Shenzhen Research Institute of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, under the theme "Moments of Connection: Smiles and Hands Across Asia-Pacific."
Liu Weiling, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, welcomed visitors and described the exhibition as an important cultural exchange event within APEC's "China Year." She said it fits this year's APEC theme, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together." The organizers, she said, hope to use the lens to capture warm moments of people working hand in hand and civilizations blending with one another.
Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Hong Kong's deputy chief secretary for administration, spoke at the opening as well. He said the photographs record the Asia-Pacific's cultural landscape and development stories without needing words. In his view, the exhibition reflects the core spirit of this year's APEC and gives visitors a glimpse of growing mutual understanding in the region, along with achievements in inclusive, shared development.
The exhibition has a short history. It debuted in Bangkok in 2022, ahead of the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, then moved to Jakarta in 2023 and went online in 2024. Across those editions it has drawn photographers from more than 40 countries and regions.
This year's call for entries brought in more than 2,200 submissions from 330 photographers around the world. After what organizers describe as a rigorous selection process, 97 works by 54 photographers from 17 countries and regions were chosen to show the "smiles" and "hands" of Asia-Pacific people and to portray a shared future of inclusive prosperity.
One of the selected photographers is Emanuele Giacomini, a documentary photographer based in Italy. His set of images from the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, India, is in the show; the festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017. He told China Daily that photography can bring distant worlds closer, creating a silent dialogue between the people pictured and those looking at the images. He added that the theme matches his own approach: looking for human connection, spontaneous gestures and emotions that cross cultural and religious lines.
At the launch, Bill Condon, an adviser to the think tank Our Hong Kong Foundation, praised the quality and diversity of the work. He said it is important to use the soft power of culture and art, and that the Asian focus makes the show more relevant and opens a chance for dialogue outside the formal meetings.
Nay Min Thu, a Myanmar student at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and an amateur photographer, was struck by the stories behind the pictures, especially Shirkoo Mamagha's images of peaceful moments among nomadic communities in Iran. He said he learned that photos should carry stories.
The exhibition closes Friday, and the leaders' meeting follows next month in Shenzhen.
Citazioni salienti
It is really important to show and utilize the soft power of culture and art.— Bill Condon, adviser, Our Hong Kong Foundation
The photographs document the Asia-Pacific's cultural landscape and development stories without relying on words.— Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, Hong Kong deputy chief secretary for administration (paraphrased)
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