Copied from Laura Smit’s Facebook Post. I want to let my friends who live in Columbia/Howard County know about a free photography contest that is happening in Columbia’s Sister City, Liyang, in China, that Columbia/Howard County residents are invited to participate in!

The theme is “Light of Spring”. Adult and youth photographers in Columbia/Howard County, both professional and amateur, may participate. They simply submit up to 3 photos to our Liyang sister city committee via email by May 20, and our photo contest coordinator will make sure they get to the Liyang Cultural Center in China that is hosting the Photo Contest.

Please see the description and rules for the “Light of Spring” photo contest below.

This is our first time with a virtual photography exchange/contest with our Sister City in China. It will be fun to share photos from our spring here in Columbia/Howard County with the residents and photographers of our Chinese Sister City. I know that a lot of you are great nature photographers who could easily participate in this. I have seen SO many of your lovely photos of spring scenes here on FB! Photos can be of anything related to spring. Awardees’ work will be printed and hung in the museum in Liyang in China.

Light of Spring Liyang, China Photo Contest Info and Rules

Purpose
➢ To encourage a photographic exchange between residents of the sister cities of
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.A. and Liyang, Jiangsu Province, China that illustrates the
the beauty of spring in our communities.

Organizers
➢ Liyang Cultural Center, China
➢ Columbia-Liyang Sister City Committee, U.S.

Eligible Participants
➢ Adult and youth photographers living in Columbia/Howard County. Both amateur and
professional photographers may participate.

How to participate
➢ The photos should be saved as Jpeg file and are to be submitted to
columbia_liyang@yahoo.com with the following information:
✓ Your name, contact number, email address and home street address.
✓ Title of photo
✓ Brief photo description (including location of photo taken, no more than 50
words)

Deadline
➢ All photos must be submitted to columbia_liyang@yahoo.com on or before May 20, 2022

Rules & Regulations
➢ Up to three (3) photos will be accepted from each photographer;
➢ The size of each photo (Jpeg file) should be between 2MB and 20MB.
➢ No limitation on photography category. It could be landscape, wildlife or portrait, as
long as it expresses the “Light of Spring” theme.
➢ The photo shall be not artificially framed and should not contain any text except the
signature and date;
➢ All photos must be original work, taken by the entrants. No third party may own or
control any materials the photo contains, and the photo must not infringe upon the
trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity
or person;
➢ Entries will be judged by the Liyang Cultural Center (LCC), China. All decisions are final.
The LCC reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is deemed inappropriate or does
not conform to stated contest rules.
➢ By submitting the photo(s), entrants agree that photo(s) submitted can be used by LCC
and Columbia-Liyang Sister City Committee for non-commercial advertising purposes.
➢ The winner will be contacted via the email address provided during entry.

Awards by Liyang Cultural Center
✓ 1st Place or Gold: 1 Award Winner
✓ 2nd Place or Silver: 2 Award Winners
✓ 3rd Place or Bronze: 3 Award Winners
✓ Excellence Award: 20 Award Winners
✓ All awarded photos will be displayed in the Liyang Museum for a month.

Disclaimer
By submitting your photo, you affirm and certify that you have read the contest
information and understand the rules to the best of your knowledge. You understand that
any misrepresentation, falsification, or omission of any facts called for in the submission
may render this submission void.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Jun Han, Coordinator of Columbia-Liyang Sister City Committee Photo Contest
Cell: 202-288-8228; Email: columbia_liyang@yahoo.com