The Disappeared Mother River taken by Uygur photographer Erkin Tahitimur. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"As a Mongol, my blood carries an ethnic identity. And in my years as a photographer, I noticed less and less photographers of ethnic minority taking pictures of their hometowns. So I began planning this project for several years," said Na.

Na and the panel of judges who are members of the Chinese Photographers Society chose about 200 photographs from the works of 100 photographers representing 20 ethnic minority photographers to be displayed at the exhibition.

After receiving high praise from the photography circle, his efforts for ethnic minorities were finally rewarded.

"I visited the exhibition at the Inter Gallery in Beijing's 798 Art Zone several months ago, and I was stunned by the photo. It was quite different from what I had seen before," said Chen Xiaobo, China's renowned photography theorist and senior photography editor at Xinhua News Agency.