New Year Address

Colleagues and friends,

On the morning of the final day of this year, Vice Chair Lin Shuikun shared “Looking Ahead to the New Spring.” I am forwarding this message not only as an expression of hope, but also as a call to sustained momentum.

CPL is the first photography platform of its kind established in the East. It draws on Eastern wisdom, methods, endurance, and creativity—enabling photography to fully realize the advantages of the “mass participation” era, and to deliver “firsts” and new records across multiple domains. Creativity differs from innovation: the former brings something into existence; the latter can be repeated without limit. The former is strategy; the latter is tactic.

CPL is a community of shared purpose, bringing together leading figures across industries who carry the drive and capacity to create. Over decades, achievements have been made through repeated effort and collective perseverance within this broad community.

I offer my sincere gratitude to each of you.

Vice Chair Li Dan, leader of the “Sichuan Women’s Bicycle Photography Expedition,” led a team by bicycle over the Qinling Mountains and across the Yellow River, and was welcomed at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square with an official entry ceremony hosted by the People’s Government of Beijing. This initiative and the Photography News—where Li Dan also served as Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief—were subsequently recognized as world records.

For forty years, the newspaper has been distributed free of charge to society. Its senior editorial leadership has served on a voluntary basis, without salary or benefits. To support the newspaper’s survival and development, Li Dan used funds originally allocated for equipment—first 10,000 RMB in the last century, and later 30,000 RMB in this century—to provide living subsidies for young editors and interns.

She continued to work with modest equipment. Her practice was later cited publicly as an example of “making great work with a small camera.” As field commander, she also led what remains an unmatched public-interest initiative: providing free portraits on-site, printing them immediately, framing them, and gifting them to more than 12,800 farmers—an unprecedented scale within its category. This practical ethos of public service enabled the initiative to meet its founding aims and to be realized in the East.

Vice Chair Lin Shuikun has created three “firsts” of his own: establishing the “Long Stone Array,” carving the first “Lianshan,” and completing the first fully equipped “CPL Chair Base.” Two sessions of the City Photography Congress were convened in Quanzhou, China—where he served as chair.

The first Secretary-General of CPL, Zhao Liulan—who led Nanjing’s photography association for three decades—successfully hosted the Third City Photography Congress in Nanjing. Through the Congress, CPL instituted a defining operating reform: CPL does not convene by an annual routine.

This change expanded CPL’s freedom of action: when there is urgent work, multiple congresses may be convened within a year; when there is not, years may pass without convening a meeting that lacks a defined objective.

The reform reflects CPL’s foundational purpose: voluntary participation, shared goals, and action-oriented collaboration. Unlike the chair—appointed and removed through a competitive process—CPL’s Executive Chair, Vice Chairs, and Deputy Chairs follow a lifelong appointment model, enabling proven leaders to continue advancing work without an arbitrary retirement horizon. This stands as the first Secretary-General’s pivotal contribution.

The Fifth CPL Congress was held in Chongzhou, China. The world’s first handprint wall for photographers—established by the local government— was completed at the entrance to the covered bridge in Chongzhou.

Among the 99 handprints and signatures of leading photographers on the wall, the builder and convenor—Vice Chair Gu Mingqing—left no handprint of his own.

A fireworks awards ceremony attended by tens of thousands, alongside more than 362,000 domestic and international multimedia reports, marked another “first” among comparable events—demonstrating the capacity, integrity, and character of CPL’s leadership community.

To date, guided by the “first-principles” standard established in the last century, CPL has delivered dozens of “first” outcomes across diverse fields.

Recalling the past is often seen as a privilege of age. For CPL—ever young—reaffirming foundational work is a deliberate signal of readiness: it consolidates what has been built and reinforces preparation for delivering defined objectives.

There are many more examples of selfless contribution that cannot be fully acknowledged in a brief address. For instance, Vice Chair Lin Zhenshou (Fuzhou Photographers Association) took initiative in establishing and maintaining the “CPL City Photography League Network,” and supported the delivery of CPL’s cultural initiative to Mr. Cao Dewang during a recent visit to Fuzhou.

Likewise, Vice Chair Dai Hong helped advance public understanding of ethics and historical awareness through an inscription project at Zuguang Lake in Anshun, Guizhou—funded by social donations rather than government appropriation.

Many New Year addresses favor the imagery of galloping speed. I do not. The pace of contemporary development is already astonishing, and time waits for no one. Even the progress of human activity in space makes any metaphor of “fast horses” feel inadequate.

Looking ahead, a world-first “CPL Art Creation Center,” hosted by Executive Committee members Sun Qiguang (Shandong) and Lin Shan (Qingdao), will soon be established in Qingdao.

Note: the emergence of a creation center of this type will mark another first in the history of fine arts.

The Tenth CPL Congress is being prepared with intensified effort. Because new forms of creation and renewed practices are emerging, the planning team, under the direct leadership of the chief planner, is working around the clock to ensure a stronger and more decisive launch.

At the Tenth Congress, the plan and method for the “Eastern Five Arts Harbor”—a comprehensive Eastern visual-arts complex integrating calligraphy, seal carving, painting, photography, and literature—will also be finalized.

Years ago, Executive Chair Zeng Yi and I reached a shared understanding: within a prominent area of the future “Eastern Five Arts Harbor,” leaders who have made significant, verifiable contributions will be commemorated with life-size iron statues—so that their work endures with the Harbor in history.

CPL will continue to produce more “firsts,” and to challenge assumptions about what is possible.

As people and as an institution, CPL must remain ever young.

Colleagues, 2026 is designated as a year of major action for CPL. We will mobilize our collective capacity to create more—and greater—“firsts” that others may not imagine, and may not be able to deliver even if they do.