Beijing will hold a photo contest called "One Moment for Cross Century," said an official with the publicity department of the Beijing municipal committee of the Communist Party of China.

He said the contest is meant to mark the moment and welcome the new millennium through the camera.

The contest will solicit contributions from all around the world, and photos must be taken in the 24 hours between December 31, 1999 and January 1, 2000.

In order to give more accesses to participants, a website: http: //www.sina.com, has been created to help solicit contributions.

The official also announced the opening of a photo contest exhibition called "Beijing Towards the New Century," and some 300 pictures will be selected from among 6,600 that are now on display in the city.

These photos vividly record a new Beijing embracing the approaching 2000, and show the achievements of the capital's environmental improvement and urban transformation as the nation marked the 50th anniversary of New China and the return of Macao.