Beijing through My Eyes

   To further promote the image of Beijing, the capital city of China, as an international metropolis to welcome the 2008 Olympics, and to strengthen foreign friends' as well as its citizens' understanding of and love for the city, to encourage them to bring forth their creativity so as to give counsels and offer suggestions for the constructions of the capital city, ebeijing, the official English website of Beijing Municipality, plans to hold an invitation competition of essays with the theme of "Beijing through My Eyes"from August 25 to October 25 2005.
  
   The competition is to be sponsored by the Foreign Affair Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, and undertaken by the Information Centre of the Foreign Affairs Office and the Administrative centre of the Window of the Capital. Participants are welcome to bring into play their creativity to express their opinions of and reflections on Beijing and offer their advice on the city's construction through their essays.

   Competitors will be divided into two big groups: one of foreign friends, who can write in either Chinese or English, and the other of Chinese, who shall be requested to write only in English. The committee of judges of the competition shall review all the participating essays on the basis of the authors' understanding of Beijing and the writing techniques, originality and depth of the essays.3, 6, and 9 essays shall be chosen to be given respectively the first, second and third prizes. In addition, 30 essays shall be awarded with the prize for fine organization, and another 20 essays to receive the prize of highest popularity and 20 the prize of best participation. And the authors of all valid participating essays shall receive souvenirs.

   Two ways of registration shall be adopted for the competition: (1) Citizens of Beijing can consult, register, and contribute voluntarily through public media like newspapers or log in relevant websites. (2) It is planned to invite the over 35,000 foreign students (both on long term and short term courses) as well as Chinese students in the over twenty universities and colleges, and other foreign friends in Beijing---such as foreign diplomats, staff members of foreign enterprises, and journalists of foreign media in Beijing and the family members of the above mentioned foreign friends. It is estimated the total number of participants may reach or even exceed 10,000.

   The committee of the judges of the competition shall consist of major personnel in charge from the Foreign Affairs Office, and other concerned departments of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, honorary advisors to ebeijing and professors from Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Language and Cultural University, University of International Business and Economics, and Beijing Second Foreign Languages Institute.

   A press conference shall be held before the competition and relevant news shall be carried by many media. The appraisal of the essays shall be carried out on line in the Beijing municipal platform of international cultural exchanges (http://www.ebijing.gov.cn), and excellent participating essays shall be published in websites and newspapers and to be published in a collection. A prize awarding ceremony shall be held at the end of the competition, at which concerned leaders and well known enterprises shall be invited.

   Financial sponsors of enterprises are sincerely solicited and invited.

   For detailed information, please refer to:

Telephone: 65599662,

e-mail: chinois99@tom.com

ebeijing