CHINA International Photographic Industrial Park (CIPIP), the first photography-themed industrial park in the country, opened Thursday.

Covering an area of 6.7 hectares in Xixiang Subdistrict, Bao'an District, the CIPIP has 40 buildings which earlier used to house factories.

The China South Photographic Museum, a core institution of the park, has been designated as a subvenue of the Fourth China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF). It features photographs of late Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai taken by Lu Houmin, 80, former vice chairman of China Photographers Association.

Lu, a native of Heilongjiang Province, worked as a photographer for Chinese leaders from 1950 to 1957.

In addition to exhibitions, forums on photography and auctions of photographs will be held during the four-day ICIF from May 16 to 19.

The park, a cultural industry project, is jointly supported by China Photographers Association and Bao'an District Government. It has been entrusted with the task of promoting China's photography to the world, Lu Ruifeng, vice mayor of Shenzhen, said at the opening ceremony Thursday.

It is not just a popular gathering place for photographers from around the country, but a platform for photography businesses, Lu said.

"The park will be a base for sales of photographic equipment and related products, a training center for photographic aficionados, a manufacturing base for photographic products," said Feng Canghong, the park's project manager.

Shenzhen Daily