Zhou Jiansheng, born in November 1950, joined the China
Photographers Association in 1980. In 1988, he went to Tokyo to
study photography, obtaining his master's degree two years later.
Zhou is now a special photographer with the PPS News Agency and
World Culture Photo Service.
Zhou first conceived the idea of photographing the world's
cultural and natural heritage in 1988, while he was studying in
Japan. At the Sony Building in Tokyo, he one day happened to see a
huge picture hanging on the wall. It was an image of the Aerial
City of Peru, Machu Picchu. Zhou was stunned, and later found that
the picture was part of a promotion for the UNESCO World Heritage
sites.
It wasn't until 1994 that Zhou was able to put into action his
ambitious plan to explore the world and its heritage. In the eight
years that followed he visited 77 countries, ranging across five
continents. He traveled to the Arctic Circle in the north and Cape
of Good Hope in the south. The total distance he covered was
equivalent to 30 circuits of the planet.
When Zhou began photographing them, there were only 420 World
Heritage sites on UNESCO list. By the close of the 28th session of
the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou, China, on July 7, 2004, the
figure had risen to 788.
"The heritage sites record the brilliant history of humanity and
show the footprints of our ancestors, those who explored and
created human civilization. They belong to all of humanity," Zhou
said.
(China.org.cn by Li Jinhui August 17, 2004)