– Yunnan Province in SW China announces global photo competition on Instagram

– 5 prize winners to be offered Yunnan travel fund (after the Covid-19 pandemic)

– Yunnan extends a warm welcome to international visitors post-pandemic

BEIJING, Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — China’s Yunnan Province launches a new global photo campaign themed "Wild Yunnan Through the Lens" on Instagram, encouraging visitors across the world to share photos of their beautiful memories when they journeyed through Yunnan.

The global photography competition, organized by travel.ifeng.com, will be officially launched on the Instagram account @travel_ifeng on February 1st 2021. Anyone can post photos of their Yunnan trip with the hashtag #wildyunnanthroughthelens to enter the online contest. The organizer will announce the winners on March 31st.

Yunnan, located in southwestern China, is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the country for international travelers. In 2019, global travelers made a total of 7.39 million trips to the province, which features an extraordinary mix of ethnic minority culture, fascinating landscapes and diverse eco-system. The province’s famous tourism destinations include Lijiang, Dali, Shangri-La and Xishuangbanna.

Yunnan ranks top in China for its biodiversity. From snowy mountains to tropical rainforests, the province hosts the greatest number of plant species in the country, providing a wonderland for a wide range of animal species. It is known as the "kingdom of fauna" and the "kingdom of flora". There are many rare and endangered animals in Yunnan, many of which can’t be found elsewhere in China.

The global tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, as international travel has been seriously limited since last year. The local tourism industry hopes the photo competition can remind global travelers of their own memories of Yunnan, share their experiences and help take care of the vulnerable ecosystem and our mother Earth.

The competition organizer, on behalf of the Yunnan tourism industry, also extends an invitation to visitors across the world to revisit this magical place. Yunnan is ready to host international tourists to enjoy the beauty there once international travel reopens.

Post Your Photo Right Now

Instagram users just need to post their photos with the hashtag #wildyunnanthroughthelens to take part. All kinds of photos about Yunnan are welcomed, especially those featuring:

• Cultural diversity in Yunnan, a major attraction for tourists and an important asset for the development of the local tourism industry.
• Yunnan’s unique and fabulous ecotourism experiences, such as rainforest trekking with a local guide, camping trips in the mountains or natural hot springs.
• Yunnan’s rich natural resources, including photos featuring the most diverse ecosystem in China.
• Festivals and activities in Yunnan, full of myths and celebrated by singing, dancing and painting.
• Yunnan’s breathtaking landscapes and scenery from snow-capped mountains to a true tropical environment.

Awards and Prizes: Your next trip reimbursed

The winners will be selected by a combination of an expert panel of highly-qualified tourism professionals and the numbers of "likes" and "comments" on Instagram.

The top 5 winners will receive the following prizes:

• 1st Place: a Yunnan travel fund of RMB 8,000;
• 2nd Place: a Yunnan travel fund of RMB 5,000;
• 3rd to 5th Place: a RMB 3,000 Yunnan travel fund.

The travel fund will be valid from May 1st 2021 to the end of 2024. All five winners will also be granted the title "Tourism Recommendation Officer of the Year".

In addition, 20 high-quality photography works selected from this campaign will be displayed during the 2021 United Nations Biodiversity Conference.

The members of judging panel will be announced soon.