Russian photographer Sergey Ponomarev won the highest award of China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP) with his work on refugees ferrying to Europe, the contest's jury announced Friday.

The contest's jury chose "Europe refugees" from more than 30,000 photos from around the world as photo of the year for 2015. It showed a boat full of refugees arriving at the coast of Greek island Lesbos in November 2015.

The heart-wrenching photo tells a complex and emotional story with simple photographic language. "Although we see no conflict or confrontation, we sense the hardship that awaits the people in the photo and fear for their fate," Qi Heng, deputy secretary general of the Photojournalist Society of China spoke for the jury.

Photographers from more than 70 countries and regions participated in the contest held in southwest China's Chengdu. In addition to photo of the year, gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to winners in eight categories, such as war and conflict, disaster and disease as well as general news.

The contest is a review of the past year through photos. As the award-winning photos return to the spotlight, they invite reflection on the world's common causes such as promoting peace and eradicating poverty, Xu Zugen, chief of Photojournalist Society of China, said.

The award-winning photos will be exhibited in Chengdu in June before touring overseas. The contest, hosted by the China Photojournalist Society, was first held in 2005 and has earned international acclaim since then.