The second part shows photos taken after the founding of New China until the early 1980s. At the time, a group of photographers hailing from Northwest China, such as Hou Dengke, enthralled the world with their distinctive approaches to documentary photography. Their snapshots diversified people's impressions of the region.

Works by contemporary artists, such as Zhuang Hui and Zhao Zhao, present an avant-garde perspective to address social issues.

The exhibition has a special section, A Journey into the Light, which gathers vintage photos of Yan'an, in Shaanxi province, to provide a glimpse of the revolutionary course led by the Communist Party of China.