ISLAMABAD: The Comsats Art Gallery hosted an exhibition of photographs titled ‘Xinjiang through my lens’, which focused on the natural beauty of China’s largest province, Xinjiang.

The images were taken by Mohammad Azhar Hafeez, who was one of 12 photographers selected to photograph Xinjiang in a project funded by China Radio International, and was the first person selected from Pakistan in 2013.

The photographers were divided into groups and were sent to different parts of the province where they spent 25 days exploring and photographing their experiences.

Mr Hafeez contributed more than 60 images to the exhibition, some of which are of landscapes, others of primitive huts, green pastures, streams and sunlight streaming through grey clouds.

“Xinjiang is a photographers’ heaven. The light is perfect, the skies are clear and the landscapes are breathtaking. The lakes change colour throughout the day and there are streams that run through lush green fields. It is just what a photographer would want to capture and a painter would want to paint,” he said.

The photographer said that one could often see herds of horses galloping through tall grass. He added that the people of China are very welcoming and hospitable.

“I was overwhelmed by the warm welcome extended to me in the villages, especially when they learnt I had come from Pakistan.”

Azhar Hafeez graduated from the National College of Arts in 1993, where he majored in photography. He works as assistant controller creative at the IT department in Pakistan Television Corporation.

After its opening in Islamabad where it will remain till December 5, the show will travel to Lahore and then Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015