Chinese envoys use their cameras to record the world as they see it.

What do diplomats see that the rest of us don't? A world of foreign cultures, natural landscapes and friendship.

Visitors to the National Art Museum of China in Beijing can view that world via "The World Through the Camera Lens of Chinese Diplomats", a photography exhibition in its third edition.

A panel of judges selected 154 from 383 works created by Chinese diplomats around the world. The photos were taken in more than 100 countries and regions, and they reflect the lives of Chinese diplomats in overseas countries.

Li Jinzhang, vice-minister for foreign affairs, said the exhibition would allow ordinary Chinese people to better understand traditional folkways and cultures in other countries.

The exhibition is hosted by the labor union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It opened Thursday and runs through April 14.