The 2022 FIAP World Photographers Conference opens in Lishui. [Photo/Lishui Daily]

An article about the 2022 FIAP World Photographers Conference – held in Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province last Nov 17-21 – was recently published in the latest version of the prestigious FIAP News.

FIAP News is a digital quarterly magazine produced by the Luxembourg-based International Federation of Photographic Art, or FIAP and distributed worldwide.

It contains news of all major FIAP events and shares information and articles from FIAP affiliated photographic organizations and photographers around the world. 

The 2022 FIAP World Photographers Conference marked the first time Lishui and FIAP jointly held the world event – seen as a milestone for promoting the development of the city as a top international photography venue.

Lishui's ties with photography began more than 100 years ago. In the late 19th century, Zhang Liyou, a native of Lishui's Songyang county, studied in Japan and bought a set of photographic equipment. After returning home, he opened a photo studio in Songyang.

In 1983, Lishui photographers held a group exhibition in Beijing, showcasing Lishui's scenery and culture. Since then, a photography craze has sprung up in Lishui and various photography events, exhibitions, training sessions and other activities have begun to be held frequently in the area.

According to statistics, Lishui now has 257 national-level photographers, ranking it first among prefecture-level cities in China according to the proportion of the population base. What's more, they've won more than 500 awards in authoritative exhibitions at home and abroad.

The city is now well on its way towards becoming an international photography highland. As former FIAP vice-president Jacques Denis once said: "The world of photography is rich because of Lishui and Lishui is wonderful because of the world of photography."