An annual press photography contest entitled Khoanh Khac Vang (Golden Moment) held by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) ended on Sept. 15.

This year’s the contest themed, Vietnam-Renewal and Sustainable Development, attracted 597 professional and amateur photographers.

A total of 3,280 entries were sent to the contest, showing lively moments and events from across the country, says VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong.

“The organising board was moved that so many photographers from different ages and different parts of the country, including remote and border areas, had joined the contest,” he says. A group of seventh photos, entitled Dong Xang Dau “Made in Vietnam” (The Petrol Made in Vietnam), by Thanh Long, Duc Tam, Ha Thai, Quang Nhut and Thanh Dat was granted first prize in the contest.

The photographers spent many days at the Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai to capture important moments at Vietnam ’s first commercial fuel processing plant, which marked the development of the domestic oil industry.

The photo Mot Noi Dau Chung – Mot Khat Vong Chung (A Common Misery – A Common Hope) by Van Son was also awarded first prize in the individual category. Son had a chance to capture a moving meeting in the central city of Da Nang between victims of Vietnamese Orange Agent and Japanese survivors of the atom bomb from Hiroshima .

The photo send a message of peace to the whole world, he says.

VNA Publishing House director Vu Quoc Khanh, a member of the jury, was also impressed by the photos entitled Trai Tim Cho Em (Hearts for Children), which were granted third prize, by Vu Hieu. The photos recorded a child’s life before and after heart surgery.

“The photographs show so much and urge visitors to think,” Khanh says.

One hundred and thirty excellent photographs, including 23 awarded ones, are on display at the Exhibition House at 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street , Hanoi until this Saturday./.