Award-winning photos from this year's National Geographic photography competition. Photos: National Geogrphic

China's National Geographic magazine marked its 10-year anniversary on Friday by presenting awards to winners of its annual photography contest. Several awards were presented to professional and amateur photographers, as well as celebrities.

China's official monthly journal of the National Geographic Society was launched in 2001, focusing on geography, popular science, history, culture, current events and photography.

The National Geographic photography competition formed a key part of the anniversary celebrations. 2011 marks the fifth year of the photo contest, which has gradually matured into the largest and most authoritative photo contest in China.

Under the theme of "Capture China," the contest aimed to reveal the country's true essence through the art of photography.

The contest, which opened in May, received tens of thousands of photos from across the country. An expert judging panel decided winners in three categories: nature, scenery and people.

First prize in the nature category was awarded to Huang Chaoxian for his masterpiece Pry, a photo of a wild lizard poking its green head beyond the edge of a giant leaf. The silhouette of the animal on the leaf can be seen clearly as the photo was taken from a low angle.

Yang Tongyu's The Disappeared Village won first prize in the scenery category. The photo was taken in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province, where a 200-year-old village was being to be leveled as part of the city's reconstruction and transformation.

The photo French Children Under the Stars and Stripes taken by Su Li took top honors in the people category. The picture shows a waving US flag covering the face of an adult, while two young French girls appear between the flag and the adult.

This year's photo contest marked a first by including celebrity entrants who have a passion for photography.

American-born Taiwan singer and actor, Peter Ho, won this year's inaugural prize in the celebrity category.

Actor and director, Jia Yiping, spoke of his interest in photography and its artistic value. "Photography is to look through the lens and to share your view with others. I like to take pictures of things that interest me, no matter if the subject is a person or an object," he said.