by+Dong+Fang

In 1989， stylish clothes became popular on Chinese streets. In 1992， Chinese people swarmed to the stock market. In 2003， Shenzhou-5 completed the countrys first manned spaceflight. In 2008， the Beijing Olympic Games successfully concluded. And in 2010， the Shanghai World Expo welcomed the world. At the exhibition for award-winning works of the past ten Golden Statue Awards for Chinese Photography， photos depicting these excited moments went on display. Jointly hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and China Photographers Association， the Golden Statue Awards for Chinese Photography was established in 1989 and is the highest honor in Chinas photography circles. The award has been bestowed 10 times so far. With unique understanding and perspective， Chinese photographers pursue the photographic arts with burning passion and untiring exploration， contributing to the awards high prestige and artistic merit.

Huang Liping， one winner of the 10th award， has been taking photos of his homeland for decades， recording local residentseveryday lives. His photos are plain yet full of emotion， precious images to be shared with generations to come. Actually， documentary photography not only records images， but also plays a social function， inspires social thinking and even promotes social changes by visually depicting society. Because of his work， Big Eyes， featuring a rural girl， photographer Xie Hailong was able to inspire more people to pay attention to kids in povertystricken mountainous areas， which later led to the birth of the Hope Project， a charity aiming to bring schools to poor rural areas. Photographer Li Jiejun focused on leprosy villages and his efforts helped change localslife. Both Xie and Li spent nearly 20 years on their respective projects， working to promote social interventions with their cameras and realizing humanistic concern.

If documentary photography deals with reality， commercial photography is about dreams. For example， photographer Hu Guoqings commercial photography work demonstrates an excellent combination of originality and ideas， exhibiting the beauty of dreams.

The various awards of the event over the past decade have covered a broad range of topics. However， images recording Chinas social changes are definitely more resounding and touching. Most of these works just depict ordinary peoples daily lives， but audiences can trace the tracks of Chinas social changes from these vivid images. In this issue， China Pictorial selected award-winning documentary photographic works from past Golden Statue Awards for Chinese Photography that illustrate Chinas changes over the last three decades. The past is gone and the future awaits. Photographers will continue to record China and its people， as well as its changes and development， with cameras.