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Light fills the rotunda circular space in the Shatford Library inviting visitors to take a tour around the showcase of selected photographs that offer a glimpse into China’s last 10 years.

The exhibit titled “A Feast For Your Eyes And Mind” is a collaboration of the Languages Division, Xinhua News Agency’s L.A. Bureau Chinese Language Program, and the Global Club. It features photographs by Chinese photojournalists working in China.

According to Languages Division Instructor Cathy Wei, the exhibit aims to expose viewers to a global viewpoint and help them to understand the recent developments in China using the work of journalists covering news events for the Xinhua News Agency.

“It is a way to report what has been going on in China,” said Wei.

The showcase includes 20 photographs by such photographers as Wang Yuguo, Li Xin, and Yan Yan, with subjects ranging from the Beijing Olympics, an Ewenki ethnic family in inner Mongolia traveling through the Hulunbuir grasslands in winter, and a cook making noodles in front of an audience in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.

Among the students viewing the work Fernanda Torres, business major, appreciated the opportunity to have a window into a culture that may not be that different from her own after all.

“When I look closer I realize how little one knows about other cultures,” Torres said of the work. “It has opened my interest to learn more about it.”

“China has a long cultural history but many people, unless they go to China, never really have a chance to see the recent developments,” said Wei.

According to Jixuan Pan, President of the Global Club, the exhibit is an opportunity to promote Chinese culture and the work of the Global Club.

The photographs present a view of China from ancient to modern times. The work boasts a true journalistic nature that captures a moment in a complex country faced to balance the old, the new and the everyday.

“I can see all of China, traditional, cultural and normal life,” said Pan.

For business major Willy Chu, photographs like those of Olympic champion Liu Xiang celebrating victory after the 110m men’s hurdles and of Buddhist monks practicing martial arts at Shaolin Temple, represent China’s achievements.

“[The photographs] show the different aspects of Chinese culture…makes me feel proud,” said Chu.

A study abroad program to Beijing, China was started in 1997, and the program includes a visit to Pasadena’s sister city, the Xicheng District of Beijing, according to Wei. Through the study abroad program students can experience being in a “global environment,” she said.

“PCC is the bridge to knowledge about Beijing,” said Wei.

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