1985, Beijing's main parks have long been a huge draw for local residents, who amuse themselves dancing, singing and engaging in a wide variety or exercise programs. [China Daily]

Xiao is compiling a book that aims to "tell the moving stories of ordinary Chinese" behind old photos she has taken in various provinces from the 1950s to 1980s.

"The photos show how China has developed so dramatically," says 72-year-old Weng Naiqiang, whose color photo depicting Mao greeting millions of Red Guards at Tian'anmen Rostrum in the 1960s fetched more than 30,000 yuan ($4,412) at an auction in 2005.

The Beijing-based photographer says: "I am so happy that young photographers today enjoy much more freedom in what to shoot and how to shoot as Chinese people's mindset has become more open and tolerant."

But Weng insists that a "photo's primary function is to record reality" and this should not be forgotten while most young photographers take photography as an art form.

Liu says he is trying to "offer viewers an insight into the country's physical, emotional and spiritual infrastructures".

The exhibition will tour the world next year, the 60th anniversary of New China.