Xie Hailong, a consultant for the China Literary and Art Volunteers' Association and a laureate of the Golden Statue Award For Chinese Photography, takes a photo of the scenery in Wuxi on March 21. [Photo by Liu Hui/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A dozen renowned photographers from China's central media outlets visited Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province on March 21 to capture some of the city's beautiful scenery and vivid scenes of urban life.

The photographers, some of whom are laureates of the Golden Statue Award For Chinese Photography, China's top award for photography, visited several popular local scenic spots and places of historical and cultural interest, such as the Turtle Head Isle, which boasts one of the world's most attractive cherry blossom forests, the Sino-Japanese Cherry Blossom Friendship Forest.

With over 30,000 cherry trees of more than 100 kinds, the isle is where the annual Wuxi International Cherry Blossom Week has taken place since 2014. This year's event will be held from March 26 to April 1, which also marks the 32nd anniversary of the Sino-Japanese forest.

"The cherry blossom week has become one of our brand activities, and we make it special by integrating the flowers with landscape art and light shows," said Su Wenlong, director of the scenic spot's marketing development department.

The breathtaking night view of cherry blossoms with colorful lights at the Turtle Head Isle in Wuxi [Photo/IC]

The photographers also visited some ancient streets, towns and villages, as well as cultural and industrial parks to get to know more about the city's history, culture and civil life.

This is part of their tour around the province. The tour, organized by China Daily, China's national English news outlet, is for the production of a photo collection that displays the unique charm of the province and the achievements it has made over the past seven decades, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

A photo of an elegant Chinese lady standing on an ancient bridge in Wuxi, which is taken by Qian Han, chair of the Shandong News Photography Society and a laureate of the Golden Statue Award For Chinese Photography [Photo by Qian Han/for chinadaily.com.cn]