Fuyang Zhou Interview

Fuyang Zhou is the lucky winner of the HIPA 2013 photography competition. 

HIPA (Hamdan International Photography Awards) has the largest grand prize of any photography competition, with $120,000 awarded to the winner. Fuyang's image, which depicts a teacher in a rural district of China, his native country, fit perfectly into the 'Creating the future' category of the competition. 

Fuyang Zhou started his photography career in 2010, and since then has been awarded 4 photography prizes prior to HIPA, two in US photography competitions and two in Greek ones. The first award he received was the P.S.A International Photography Award in the USA. 

Photography is a hobby for Fuyang, who doesn't have an academic grounding in the subject. "Photography is my favourite hobby," he enthuses. "I like to photograph villages, countryside and rural areas, as these are the places that reflect people's lives," he added.

Fuyang first heard about HIPA through the 'Tian Ren' photography club, based in China, last year. "My image is a reflection on people's life and I felt that HIPA's category, 'Creating the future', fit my image perfectly. I felt this image stood me in good stead for winning a prize," he says. 

The winning image (above) was taken in October 2013, in Si Chuan province, in a district called Da Lian San. "The place is quite simple and the people there are very poor," explains Fuyang. "I captured the photograph as it shows how hard the people are working, making great efforts to improve their lives and create a better future for their children."



Fuyang has travelled to many cities and countries in pursuit of great photography locations, including India, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia, but his favourite location is Dubai: "The city is fantastic, and it's so clean." Fuyang is satisfied and happy to have won the HIPA grand prize.

To find out more about the HIPA Awards, take a look at the HIPA website.