A press photo exhibition titled "China from the 50's to Now" opened here on Thursday, as part of the ongoing Europalia-China art festival.

The exhibition, organized by the European Regional Bureau of Xinhua News Agency in cooperation with Wallonia-Brussels promotion office of tourism, will run through February 13.

About 200 pictures were chosen from 4 million images in Xinhua's photo archive. According to the organizers, these photographs are not only precious archive resources, but also the epitome of the 60-year development of the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949.

The pictures on display focused mainly on ordinary Chinese people, especially on their daily life and state of mind.

"China is a big country with its own culture," said Claude Maitin, who visited the exhibition, adding that cultural exchange between China and Europe is of vital importance.

As an event of cultural exchange jointly initiated by the Chinese and Belgian heads of state, the Europalia-China art festival officially opened in Brussels on October 8 last year.

It is the biggest cultural event organized by China overseas in the past five years, aimed at helping Europe and the rest of the world to better understand China.

"China's culture impressed me deeply," General Commissioner of the art festival Claire Kirschen said while addressing the opening of the exhibition. "Diversity of cultures can give an impetus between the two sides."

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2010)