Eagle trainer Makanau Tumanbek and his eagle "Red Eye" in Aheqi, southern Xinjiang's Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture.[Photo by Niu Siyuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Little does the eagle trainer Makanau Tumanbek living deep in the mountains of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region know, the picture of him gently touching the beak of his eagle "red eye" with his nose has gone viral on the internet after it won the grand prize of this year's iPhone Photography Award- the Oscar of iPhone photography.

The moment was captured by Niu Siyuan with his iPhone 5s in southern Xinjiang's Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture. "Makanau's move was to calm the startled eagle. I noticed the tough 61-year-old Kirgiz man who rarely smiles suddenly became so soft with his eagle. Immediately, I took my phone out and took the picture. There was no time for me to think," said Niu, 29, from Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang.