Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles exhibited their photos Sunday to show how they see America through their cameras.

Entitled "America in the Eyes of Chinese Diplomats," the exhibit demonstrated 50 photos taken by diplomats from the Chinese General Consulate in Los Angeles.

This is the first time Chinese diplomats in Los Angeles showed their understanding of America through photo exhibit. According to Sun Weide, Deputy Consul General at the Chinese Consulate, it is the idea of Zhang Yun, Consul General, to hold the exhibit.

"The proposal got warm response. 19 diplomats submitted 168 photos for us to review. We invited experienced photographers from the local newspapers to make a selection. Finally 50 photos have been picked up for the show," Sun Weide told Xinhua at the exhibit.

The photo show was held at the 11th Asian Moon Family Festival and Chinese American Cultural and Arts Festival in West Covina, California.

Yue Liwen from the Chinese Consulate's press section contributed his photo entitled "Polling Day." The photo shows an American flag on the right hung from a big tree trunk, and signs of "Polling Place" on the left. What makes it unique is that it has Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Hispanics on the signs.

"The photo was taken on the election day in November, 2008. I spent the whole day visiting polling places in Los Angeles to see how Americans elect their president. The sign in Santa Monica obviously caught my attention because it has Chinese and other languages," Yue told Xinhua.

He said it was the first time he has ever watched the U.S. presidential election in person and the signs reminded him of the participation of Chinese Americans and other minority ethnic groups in American politics. The signs also showed the multi ethnic and multi cultural situation in Southern California.

Joyous Children, Street Artist and Team Work taken by Yang Aidi and others show what those diplomats have seen on the street and at school campus. They tell how ordinary Americans spend their life.

Diplomats are not professional photographers. Wang Luo, chief of political section at the Chinese Consulate, usually brought a digital camera with her. When she saw something interesting, she would take out the camera.

On December 31, 2009, Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and Hollywood movie star Jackie Chen came to promote for the Shanghai Expo float for the Pasadena Rose Parade. Wang took the photo and was selected to be placed for exhibition.

"It shows the cultural exchange between the United States and China," said Wang.

One photo, entitled "Harmony" taken by Zhong Ling, shows a group of people waving hands to a deer, which raises its head to express its appreciation.

Similar scene was captured by Huang Cheng, who shot a photo showing four children were posing for a photo with four dogs sitting on a bench on the side of a street. Huang gave the photo a name: Cool Dogs.

Sun Weide also loves photography. He captured a scene at the 2010 Lotus Festival in Los Angeles with some Chinese performing dancing while some Americans watching with great interest.

Sun said those photos may not be very professional, but they show how America the American people have been seen from the eyes of the diplomats. He said it is important for the Chinese to understand Americans and for Americans to understand Chinese.

According to Sun, those diplomats try to be objective in seeing America and its people. There is always trash in a country, he said. But there are also flowers. From the photos people can see many beautiful scenes and joyful people.

"Mutual understanding is very important for the United States and China. As diplomats, we will make every effort to promote mutual trust and understanding," Sun added.

Wang Luo said she expected more and better photos next year for the second exhibit. "People have taken too many scenery photos with less focus on people. Next time we will improve," she said.