Peter Danford of the United States won first prize in the Beijing––An Olympic City in View photo contest with his rendering of the National Aquatics Center (aka Water Cube), the venue for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
A long-time resident of Beijing, Danford has been wielding a camera since an early age and spent several years working in computers and shooting travel material professionally in Asia before settling in Beijing.
Photography is now tightly integrated into Peter’s work. The photographer said he began shooting the Water Cube in 2003 when he met its Australian designer by accident. Moved by Danford’s zeal, the designer allowed him to take an inside visit.
“The construction is amazing. Together with the Olympic Green, the two venues [the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and National Aquatics Center will be a highlight of Olympic venues and the whole Beijing city.”
Danford had spent four years in Shanghai and Hong Kong before he settled in Beijing in March 2006. He first came to the city in 1990 with the stereotype that Beijing is a typical oriental and old-China city. “Then I was astonished to see such a bigger metropolis. Beijing is now an evolving city, filled with opportunities and surprises just waiting for expats like me to discover.”
One of the two things Danford likes the most about Beijing is its fantastic food. “It’s even hard to pick my favourite dish as the cuisine as a whole is so fine, but Peking roast duck and dumplings are what I regularly order when going out to dine.”
Another attraction of the city, shared by most expats in Beijing, is the capital’s seemingly countless opportunities for personal growth, as is demonstrated in his career choices. He once worked as a computer programmer and is the founder of The Beijing Guide (www.thebeijingguide.com), which offers services including online hotel advertising, commercial photography and 360-degree virtual tour photography, which features some of Beijing’s most famed attractions. The Web site is in four languages: Chinese, English, French and German.
Danford said a friend of his told him about the photo contest, and he sent five pictures to the organizers, “But I’d never expected to win.” He said the contest is really important for expats as “we don’t see ourselves as ‘outsiders,’ and feel we are a part of this city.”
The Beijing––An Olympic City in View Photo Contest is sponsored by the Beijing Tourism Administration and was organized by Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchange Center. Its purpose is to fully explore and display Beijing’s charms as a historic capital, a modern metropolis and Olympic city and to showcase Beijing residents’ enthusiasm and preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games. It serves as a bridge between Beijing and the world.
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