Verified source report
‘A soccer ball can bring great joy to two little kids’: Kuanglong Zhang’s best phone picture
The carefree scene in the ancient Chinese city of Kashgar prompted the photographer to reflect of his own sources of happiness Kuanglong Zhang lives in Shenzhen, in the south of China, and was visiting the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar when he took this photo. Close to the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, it is ancient and landlocked; distinctly different from the modern port city he calls home. Zhang remembers being captivated by the unfamiliar streets and alleys. As he explored, he came across two brothers playing football after school. “I used the telephoto lens on my phone to make the contrast between the children and the painted yellow buildings stronger, and the composition cleaner,” says Zhang, who is the 2025 Mobile Photography awards’ photographer of the year . “I set up the shot so they’d be on the left and right side of the frame to create a sense
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘A soccer ball can bring great joy to two little kids’: Kuanglong Zhang’s best phone picture, The carefree scene in the ancient Chinese city of Kashgar prompted the photographer to reflect of his own sources of happiness Kuanglong Zhang lives in Shenzhen, in the south of China, and was visiting the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar when he took this photo. Close to the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, it is ancient and landlocked; distinctly different from the modern port city he calls home. Zhang remembers being captivated by the unfamiliar streets and alleys. As he explored, he came across two brothers playing football after school. “I used the telephoto lens on my phone to make the contrast between the children and the painted yellow buildings stronger, and the composition cleaner,” says Zhang, who is the 2025 Mobile Photography awards’ photographer of the year . “I set up the shot so they’d be on the left and right side of the frame to create a sense
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-06T10:00:03+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: ‘A soccer ball can bring great joy to two little kids’: Kuanglong Zhang’s best phone picture via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- ‘A soccer ball can bring great joy to two little kids’: Kuanglong Zhang’s best phone pictureThe Guardian - 2026-06-06T10:00:03+00:00
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