A first prize winner of Just Share It - Happy Chinese New Year Photo Contest 2016, Let's Take a Photo, by Chen Yongwei. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

As part of global Happy Chinese New Year celebrations, photographers are encouraged to show how other countries mark the event in the Just Share It - Happy Chinese New Year Photo Contest 2017.

As China ushers in the lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, on Jan 28, 2017, Chinaculture.org invites you to share your photos of Chinese New Year celebrations from all over the world.

Regardless of whether you are a professional or amateur, who you are or where you are from, you are welcome to submit photos of wonderful moments from Chinese New Year celebrations.

The photos must be taken outside of the Chinese mainland between Jan 1 and Feb 28, 2017.

The entries will be scored and all the winners will be awarded prize money.

Awards and Prizes

1. The contest will select 100 photos ( single or group), including:

???? ★ First prize: 10 photos (single or group), remuneration for each 5,000 RMB

???? ★ Second prize: 30 photos (single or group), remuneration for each 3,000 RMB

???? ★ Third prize: 60 photos (single or group), remuneration for each 1,000 RMB

2. The organizer will deduct any tax on the award money and pay the authorities on behalf of the winners.

The author agrees that the sponsor of the event has the right of final interpretation of rules and regulations. If one does not meet the requirements, the work will be disqualified. By submitting the works the author agrees to accept the rules.

Sponsor

Bureau for External Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China

Host

Chinaculture.org

Organizer

Chinadaily.com.cn

Who

Anyone who takes part in Happy Chinese New Year activities or celebrates Chinese New Year outside of the Chinese mainland is welcome to submit photos of wonderful moments of the celebration. Regardless of whether you are a professional or amateur, who you are or where you are from.

What

1. All photos about Chinese New Year celebrations are welcome. The images should show the programs and activities of Happy Chinese New Year (a worldwide celebration hosted by the Ministry of Culture of the PRC and other Chinese authorities) all over the world or capture scenes of people enjoying the Spring Festival overseas.

2. Photographs must be of an event outside the Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and all foreign countries), and the photographer can be of any nationality.

3. All the images must be real, not doctored or Photoshopped. The tone and color of the image could be slightly adjusted, and the color can be changed into black and white or monochromatic. Composition and clipping are allowed.

4. Photographs must be in digital format, either TIF or JPG files. And resolution of the photo should be 300 dpi. TIF file should be no smaller than 50MB, the highest compressed format of JPG file no less than 7MB, and the maximum should be no less than 3,000 pixels. If submitting to Facebook, photos could be compressed, but please keep the original file. If the photo is shortlisted, the original file will be required.

5. Entries can be single photos or a series - a group counts as a single photo. Each group should only have four to eight photos.

6. The headline and caption (in Chinese or English) must be complete, accurate and authors should provide sufficient details, including the process and location of the shoot, and provide photographer’s nationality, address and phone number.

Please fill in the blanks blow and include the form with your entry via e-mail, either by attachment or in the body of the message.

7. The author owns the copyright of the photo. Once the shortlisted photos are published, or the author is informed they are a finalist, it means that the author has agreed that the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China has the right to use the shortlisted photos. The author shall enjoy the right of authorship of the work. The sponsor of the contest has the right to keep the short-listed entries with their captions in its photo gallery and use them in other cultural activities or cultural products, such as exhibition, publication, poster and photo album design. The sponsor also has the right to recommend the short-listed photos with their captions to related media and will not pay the author for use.

8. All legal responsibility and all losses resulting from any copyright infringement, trademark rights, privacy rights, and publicity rights shall be borne by the author himself. The organizer does not take any legal responsibility and all losses resulting from but not limited to any copyright infringement, trademark rights, privacy rights, and publicity rights of the selected works.

9. Once the short-listed candidates are announced, the author should provide personal information and bank information to get remuneration; if personal and bank information is not provided, the winner will be disqualified.

When

Starts from Jan 1, 2017

Submission deadline: Feb 28, 2017

How

Please submit your photo to: [email protected]

Or you can submit your work to China Culture's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/China-Culture-1575300589358145/.

Scan the QR code below to follow China Culture's Facebook page, and always remain updated with the?latest Chinese culture news, events and information.

You can also post your photos on your Sina Weibo account and tag “@中國(guó)文化網(wǎng)”, or upload your works under the organizer's post calling for entries, or send your photos via private Weibo messages to the organizer. (Please follow @中國(guó)文化網(wǎng))

Notice: The author should use their real name, address, email and phone number. Anyone who provides incomplete contact information will be disqualified.

From New Year scrolls to fireworks, from jiaozi to the family reunion dinner, many traditions and customs constitute the 4,000-year-old festival Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. As the most important traditional festival in the country, the Chinese New Year gives the best description of the psyche, heritage, aesthetics and culture of the Chinese people.

In 2001, the Ministry of Culture of the PRC launched efforts to build the brand for the Chinese New Year with the purpose of sharing Chinese culture globally. The overseas activity was officially named Happy Chinese New Year in 2009, propelling the growing global impact of the Chinese festival. Focused on "Happiness", "Harmony", "Dialogue" and "Sharing", the Happy Chinese New Year program hosts the core values of "Festival of Nature", "Festival of Family", "Festival of Soul", and "Festival of the World", all of which are dedicated to sharing the achievements of Chinese culture.

In 2016, more than 2,100 events were staged in 400 cities in 140 countries and regions, reaching out to 250 million audiences across the globe. These events varied in forms, such as temple fairs, global Chinese New Year galas, lantern shows, street parades, performances, variety shows, cultural and trade exhibitions, intangible cultural heritage shows, TV programs and film presentations, book fairs, fireworks shows, as well as seminars.