One of the most famous Chinese paintings, "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", has been recreated by a resident of the city of Harbin.
The hustle and bustle of a street unfolds on a colored scroll made entirely from odd bits of cloth. Two and a half meters long and one point three meters high, the tapestry is packed full of delicate figures of people and animals in front of painstakingly detailed ancient buildings.
The mastermind behind this cloth street scene is Li Zhiren, an amateur craftsman whose hands can turn cloth into anything his mind can conjure up.
"The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" was originally painted by Zhang Zeduan in the Song Dynasty, around 1,000 years ago. The original has provided precious information about the businesses, handicrafts, architecture and transportation tools in a Northern Song Dynasty city hundreds of years ago.
Li Zhiren's recreation may not have the historical impact of the original, but everyone must agree that it's every bit as beautiful.
(CCTV.com May 30, 2003)
