A photo exhibition, which features works by a photographer who has travelled to 77 countries at his own expense since 1994, is being held in downtown Beijing.

Photographer Zhou Jiansheng's solo exhibition lasts until Sunday at the Friendship Hall of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries at 1 Taijichang Dajie.

On display are 80 pictures taken by the adventurous photographer in 77 countries and regions of items of World Cultural and Natural Heritages registered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Through his lens people see the giant stone statues (moai) of the Rapa Nui National Park (Easter Island) in Chile, Machu Picchu -- the amazing Inca city in Peru and the Bandiagara Cliff in Mali.

"Some of the most splendid world heritages lie in the remotest corners of the earth that are reached by very few people, but Mr Zhou Jiansheng has them all in his unique and impressive photos," said Xu Xiaobing, ex-chairman of the Chinese Photographers' Association.

Born in 1950 in Beijing, Zhou left for Japan to study photography in 1988 at the Fine Arts Department of Nihon University. In 1990 he started graduate studies at the Tama Art University in Tokyo and graduated two years later with a Master of Arts degree.

From 1994 he started his lonely tour around the world.

"I was in Togo on New Year Eve in 2001 and I found a Chinese restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was a Beijinger who came to the African country eight years earlier after studying in France," said Zhou in his diary.

"He said he had met numerous foreign guests, but I was the only Chinese person he saw touring the world on his own. He was so proud and showed me around. It was this pride that spurred me on in the last 10 years," Zhou said.

(China Daily November 20, 2003)