A ceremony was held in Beijing Wednesday to launch a book series titled Eight Years, which collects more than 600 portrait photos of 100 eminent world figures.

Written in a diary style, the series recorded the communications between Deng Wei, the author, and many world-renowned people in the eight years from June 1990 to August 1997. The portraits focus on former US President Ronald Reagan and famous American architect Ieoh Ming Pei.

Deng, a well-known Chinese photographer, said that 80 percent of the portrait photos in the books had never been published before.

The series include three books.
 
(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2004)