Wang Shengli

During the winter of 2010-11, 50 accomplished Chinese painters set out on the Silk Road, using their brushes to uncover scenes along the long distance of the ancient road. Wang Shengli, President of the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, and one of the planners of this event, discussed the interesting activity with Beijing Review reporter Zhou Xiaoyan in an exclusive interview.

Beijing Review: What was the aim of this large artistic project?

Wang Shengli: It has been proved by archaeologists that the relics of the Tang West Market, which was a prosperous market during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was located in its capital Chang'an, now Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, was the eastern end of the ancient Silk Road. Therefore, we wanted to start from Xi'an to revisit the Silk Road and record the past and present along the road through our works. We organized China's 50 most famous painters to visit the road, to sketch on the spot and conduct artistic creation, which is why we called this activity "Painting the Silk Road."

In addition, this activity will help the joint application for world heritage status. China, together with five Central Asian countries along the Silk Road (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan), have jointly submitted an application to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for world heritage status for the route of the ancient Silk Road.

What's worth mentioning is that this activity was jointly planned and operated by the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts and Xi'an Tang West Market Culture Industry Investment Co. Ltd. It is a useful pilot project for cooperation between cultural institutions and cultural enterprises.

PAINTING THE CITY OF CANALS: Wang Shengli works on a canvas in Venice, Italy (COURTESY OF WANG SHENGLI)

Please tell us about this artistic activity.

"Painting the Silk Road" was successfully launched on November 15, 2010, in the Tang West Market. The market is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. The activity was divided into a domestic and foreign part. Last November, 50 painters headed west from Xi'an, passing through cities in the middle part of the Silk Road, including Urumqi, Turpan, Kuerle and Hotan in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as well as Dunhuang in Gansu Province. The team returned to Xi'an on December 7, 2010, having successfully produced many beautiful works about the domestic part of the Silk Road.

This year, painters have left China, traveling further westward to cities like Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. This will make the activity a cultural event without boundaries. After finishing their creations, artists will have exhibitions in Xi'an, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome respectively. After that, all the works will become part of the collection of the Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an .

RECORDING HISTORY: Pan Shixun, a professor at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, creates an oil painting in the ancient city of Jiaohe, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (COURTESY OF Xi'an Tang West Market Culture Industry Investment Co. Ltd.)