Locals, expats invited to submit photos that capture the essence of the city

Shanghai's urban planning body is inviting residents and expatriates to send their photos of the city for a planned exhibition.

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall has decided on theme "city's color" and is asking photographers to submit their pictures till the end of June.

Local residents can submit photos that highlight the achievements of the reform and opening up four decades ago, while foreigners can submit photos of their time spent in the city, said Zhu Kan, an official from the exhibition hall.

Foreign residents have been part of Shanghai's culture for over 100 years. They have contributed a lot to its development, he said.

A total of 150 photos will be selected and exhibited in exhibitions, WeChat and other new media platforms. The photographers whose works have been chosen will receive 300 yuan (US$47.3) for each photo.

The photos can focus on the city's natural environment, such as parks, waterways and forests; seasonal weather, and birds and insects.

Urban space such as buildings, plazas, roads, shopping malls and cultural venues are also welcome. The third theme is human life and culture. They can be historical heritage, traditional neighborhood, lifestyle, pedestrians and colorful neon light of commercial streets. Participants are encouraged to mention their personal experiences and stories with the city in their works.

The photos can be mailed to xmsyb@xmwb.com.cn before June 30 with a caption of 100 words, along with the time and location of the photo as well as the sender's address and contact. The photos must be after January 2017 and in Shanghai. The size of each photo should be at least 5 megabytes.

Photo requirements:

1. Photos can be either single or group photos. (Not more than four for each group and six for comparison photos.)

2. The photos must be taken in Shanghai.

3. They should have prominent themes.

4. No filter, special effects or changes are allowed on the original photos. They must all be in digital JPG format.

5. Please mark “title-author” on each work and caption it in less than 100 words. The caption should indicate the intention, time and place of each photo, as well as the photographer’s address, postal code and contact number.

6. The picture file size should be smaller than 2,000 x 2,000 pixels, and the size should be at least 5 megabytes.

7. The photos must be taken after January 2017 (Photos showing urban development and changes are not restricted by date, but at least one work in the group photos should be taken after January 2017).