Steve Zhao, the general planner and main founder of the world-renowned China Story project, is the only Asian photographer in Nikon’s “Grand Total” Top Ten Global Photographers, as well as the only artist who was invited on four separate occasions to exhibit his photos in Brussels, Belgium, at the headquarters of the European Commission. He received support from the China Information Office, the Ministry of Culture, and the China National Tourism Administration, as well as grants from international firms such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BMW, Volkswagen, Nikon, Kodak, Procter & Gamble, and American Express for his photographs and global exhibitions.

In 2000, Mr. Zhao was featured as a guest in a special broadcast of “Oriental People” by CCTV, where his photographic works were presented to the viewing public.

He portrays the splendid Chinese civilization and beautiful life of the Chinese people in his poetic photos for his classic photo project, called China Story. His work has been exhibited in 40 countries around the world. They were displayed in China's foreign embassies on the National Day of China, and year-round, in other embassies such as the EU and Germany embassies in China. To date, Steve has authored roughly 20 collections of China Story pictorials. Among his new projects in the upcoming year, he will create a German Story and an Italian Story for the embassies of Germany and Italy in China.