Photo of northern tea hills wins silver prize at international contest

The hills, in the northern Phu Tho Province, 112 kilometers from Hanoi, are seen blanketed in early morning mist in Duc’s photo, which won in the Beauty of Nature category.

Bui Viet Duc's photo of Long Coc tea hills in Phu Tho Province.

Long Coc comprises a number of hills covered in tea plantations that look like upturned bowls placed next to each other. Tea farming is the main source of income for many people in Phu Tho.

In late autumn and early winter the hills are always covered in fog, making for an ideal picture for photographers.

Another photographer, Khanh Phan, won a $500 bronze prize in the contest’s Documentary and Travel category for a shot of a person fishing inside the Tinh Khe nipa palm forest, a popular eco-tourism spot in the central province of Quang Ngai.

Khanh Phan's photo of Tinh Khe nipa palm forest in Quang Ngai Province.

Nguyen Tan Tuan and Nguyen Phuoc Hoai won excellence awards in the Open category.

Tuan’s photo shows a woman harvesting water lilies in a pond in Moc Hoa District in the Mekong Delta province of Long An, and Hoai’s shows a fishing boat casting nets off the Phu Yen Province coast in central Vietnam.

Organized by the Smile World International Photography Union, this year’s contest attracted over 10,000 entries.