China's state-owned news agency Xinhua announced that it will issue a digital media photo collection via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) at 8:00 pm on December 24th, Beijing time.

According to the announcement, the collection will feature 11 photos taken by journalists during the course of the year. Each photo consists of 10,000 copies and will be available for free on Xinhua Mobile on Friday.

"The collection will imprint digital memories into the metaverse,” Xinhua said.

This year, the Chinese government has stepped up its crackdown on cryptocurrencie, prohibiting mining, trading, fundraising, and other related activities. China's central bank stated that "virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities," and those who are involved in "illegal financial activities" are committing a crime and will be prosecuted.

However, blockchain-related technologies are not prohibited. Completely different from other NFTs trading platforms, NFTs published on China-licensed blockchains are usually prohibited from secondary selling or auctioning.

Xinhua’s NFT collection will be issued via Zxinchain, Tencent’s government-authorized enterprise blockchain network, according to TheBlock. 

Tencent, the Chinese gaming and social media behemoth, itself did issue NFTs on this same chain in September with the collection containing digital cave paintings from the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO world heritage site located in China’s Gansu province.