• A photograph entitled “On the River,” taken by Vladimir Proshin, won the top prize at the Siena International Photography Awards on Oct. 31.

A photograph entitled “On the River,” taken by Vladimir Proshin, won the top prize at the Siena International Photography Awards on Oct. 31. (Photo : www.bjp-online.com)

A photograph entitled “On the River,” taken by Vladimir Proshin, won the top prize at the Siena International Photography Awards held on Oct. 31, the China Daily reported.

Proshin's photo portrays Chinese fishermen basking in the mist on a river near the city of Lishui in Zhejiang Province, which was taken in 2013 when he was invited on a photo tour of the "15th China International Photographic Art Exhibition" in China. He was also awarded the gold medal during the tour.

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Three other photographs were also adjudged winners in the competition. They include photographs depicting China's Great Wall, the Li River and a Chinese fisherman defying the storm.

The Siena International Photography Awards was spearheaded by the Italian cultural association, Art Photo Travel, sponsored by the City of Siena and the University of Siena.

The aim of the competition is "to promote the art of photography through a coordinated set of initiatives designed to provide an international stage and a vision of absolute importance and prestige to the participants."

According to the report, many Italian and international photography magazines supported and promoted Siena International Photography Awards, which was held for the first time this year.

The report added that the competition has attracted thousands of photographers from over 100 countries who submitted more than 15,000 photographs as entries.

An exhibition of the winning photos and top judges' picks will be held later in the Italian city of Siena from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30.

Organizers of the contest have announced that next year's competition will be open to submissions from Dec. 15 to May 2016.