'Mystical Pagoda' exhibition displays gold microcarvings by artist Mei Hua

Editor's Note: "Mystical Pagoda," currently underway at NUO Hotel Art Space in Beijing until Sept. 26, represents an important exhibition by Mei Hua, a pioneer of gold Buddhist microcarving. Tracing 18 years of artistic evolution, the exhibition presents works that fuse Tibetan iconography, traditional Chinese aesthetics and contemporary material design. In an interview conducted on-site, the artist discusses her artistic origins, philosophical beliefs and resistance to stereotypes that claimed Chinese artists could not achieve such microscopic precision. Her journey — deeply spiritual and culturally defiant — demonstrates how faith and finesse can reshape the global language of miniature art.

Artist Mei Hua poses for a photo at her exhibition "Mystical Pagoda" at NUO Hotel Art Space, Beijing, July 14, 2025. [Photo by Liu Ziying/China.org.cn]