2026 "Oil Painting Tacheng · Silk Road Style" International Photography Competition Calls for Entries Amid Booming Popularity

According to reports from China Daily Online, the 2026 "Oil Painting Tacheng · Silk Road Style" International Photography Competition is in full swing, attracting photographers from home and abroad to the northwest border of China to capture the diverse beauty of Tacheng through their lenses. The recent opening of the direct flight from Tacheng to Beijing Daxing has further boosted the event’s popularity, making it the most watched photography feast this spring.

Co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Tacheng Prefectural Committee and Visual China, the competition was launched in January 2026. Leveraging the global influence of the 500px photography community, it has so far received nearly 15,000 groups of entries, with the topic’s popularity across the Internet exceeding 50 million and the interaction volume surpassing 100,000. 

From the elaborate works of professional photographers to the casual records of ordinary enthusiasts, each piece tells the story of Tacheng’s natural beauty, cultural charm and development vitality.

Transportation convenience has added momentum to the competition. According to Guangming Net, the direct flight between Tacheng and Beijing Daxing was successfully put into operation on March 31, operated by China Eastern Airlines using an Airbus A320NEO aircraft. With a flight time of about 4 hours, the route has completely broken geographical barriers, turning the previous cumbersome transfer trips for photography into "impromptu journeys". 

It has greatly ignited the creative enthusiasm of photography lovers across the country and attracted groups of foreign photographers from Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions, who will soon go to Tacheng for in-depth photography to unlock the unique charm of the Silk Road city from an international perspective.

Centered on the theme of "Oil Painting Tacheng · Silk Road Style", the competition closely follows the pulse of Tacheng’s high-quality development, setting four categories: Natural Scenery, Colorful Life, Flavors of Tacheng and New Look of Development. These categories cover various dimensions including four-season scenery, folk intangible cultural heritage, port vitality and urban-rural changes. 

A professional jury led by Li Ge, Chairman of the China Photographers Association, ensures the professionalism of the competition while providing a broad platform for ordinary enthusiasts to showcase themselves.

To enable creators to experience Tacheng’s charm immersively, the organizers have launched high-quality photography routes, featuring scenes such as intangible cultural heritage displays, cultural and creative experiences and characteristic food tastings. While capturing light and shadow, photographers can get close to Tacheng’s folk heritage and daily life. 

At present, excellent works of the competition have been released on major European and American news agencies such as the Associated Press and Getty Images through Visual China’s overseas channels, and have also been displayed on large screens in core business districts in Beijing, covering nearly 5 million people in total and bringing Tacheng’s beauty to the world.

As a vivid practice of cultural empowerment in Xinjiang, the photography competition has not only built an exclusive image asset library for Tacheng, but also become an important carrier to enhance Tacheng’s cultural and tourism brand and promote international exchanges. It is worth noting that the call for entries is still in full swing, and the submission channel will remain open until May 18, 2026.

With the beautiful spring scenery and convenient transportation, it is the perfect time to pick up cameras and go to Tacheng. Taking images as the medium and lenses as the brush, photographers can freeze the oil painting-like scenery of the border city, allowing the world to see a vibrant and inclusive new Tacheng in the new era.