What happens when people, photos, films and scenic locales come together on a plateau 3,000 m above sea level?

The answer lies in the third Sanjiangyuan International Photography Festival and first World Mountain Documentary Festival, which has just finished.

More than 200 photographers, filmmakers and producers from home and abroad gathered in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, to share their passion for light and shadow.

Purely a photography exhibition in its first two years, a documentary contest was added this year. In line with the festival's theme, "mountain world", filmmakers and producers from 22 countries and regions brought in 343 works to compete for the Jade Kunlun awards.

"The choice of Xining as the venue matches the theme very well," says Bakeeva Ludmila, director of the International Department of Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio. "People live here in harmony with their fantastic environment. Different cultures and religions co-exist peacefully."

Located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xining boasts a diverse landscape of mountains, lakes, forests, wetlands and the Danxia landforms.

Various religions thrive here such as Islam, Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Taoism. Tourists are very likely to run into a Muslim taxi driver after a trip to Qinghai Lake, considered a sacred lake in Tibetan Buddhism, or end up visiting a Mosque and a Taoist temple on the same day as both are in the downtown area.

The festival thus is more like a party than a competition. Taking time off photo shows, film juries and summit forums, guests visited scenic places such as the sacred Qinghai Lake, Taer Monastery and Khamra forest park. Mark Byers, a senior American producer committed to communication between Chinese and international documentary communities, says there is no better choice of venue for the festival than Xining.

"Here, you find that nature's beauty is not only what you see on screen, but something you can experience," he says. "This stunning landscape will remind you of the importance of protecting and preserving it. The Qinghai spirit will be put into our future works, even if they are not on Qinghai."

Andrey Demin, a senior Russian producer and one of the judges, is actually making Qinghai the topic of his next project.

"Here in Qinghai for the first time I was driven by bus to the sky," he jokes, describing the road between Qinghai and Tibet. "The forest park, the monastery and the mountains are amazing and especially so for a documentary maker."

The festival's influence is not limited to those attending the festival. About 60 photo exhibitions have also been held in the city's universities and exhibition halls. Award-winning documentaries, such as CCTV's Forest China on the golden monkeys in Qinling Mountains and BBC's The Lost Cities of the Ancients will be broadcast on local TV till early October.