Suobuya:the Stone Forest Less Travele

The Stone Forest in the southwest province of Yunnan, thanks to its worldwide reputation, has set a stereotype about what a stone forest should be like: numerous stone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites rise abruptly from the ground and tower into the sky, extending as far as the eye can see. It deserves the name “stone forest”,     

Stone Buildings in Guizhou Plateau

Inhabitants in Guizhou, in particular, local Buyi and Yilao people, dwell in stone buildings, as the region is a mountainous area full of rocks. Houses of Buyi people are diverse in styles and shapes, They are built at riverside, onmountain slopes or in caves. Building materials used also vary, including stone slates, thatches, rammed earth and wood and bamboo. Traditional houses in Guizhou Plateau usually have stone foundations and wooden or bamboo structures, which are cost-saving and look beautiful and elegant, Most stilted houses of Buyi people have stone steps in the front side, The ground floor is made of thick stone.     

AN EXHIBITION OF CARVED STONE PIERS TO WELCOME CHINESE NEW YEAR

From January 24 to February 14, 2009, an exhibition on carved stone piers from Beiiing and Tianjin was held in Beijing International Sculpture Park, displaying nearly 300 pairs of traditional carved stone piers of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties from the collection of Zhang Lianzhi, director of Tianiin Porcelain House Museum. It is the first time that an exhibition on carved stone piers has ever bean held during Spring Festival temple fairs. This largest ever exhibition on stone piers, together with the photo exhibition on stone piers by renowned photographer Cao Lijun attracted local viewers to appreciate folk traditions as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year.     

Tiger Culture Recorded on Stone

<正>Guizhou Plateau in southwest China is known as the "Kingdom of Stone", for it is a mountainous region with diverse stone landforms. Over the sweep of history, local residents have developed unique tiger traditions and culture which are recorded in cliff sculptures, rock paintings and stone carvings.     

Relief Stone Sculpture of the Han Dynasty

＂Arts and science share the common foundation of human creativity. Arts and science, like a coin＇s sides, are inseparable and originate from the loftiest part of human activity. Both pursue the conunon goal of profundity, universality, eternity and significance.＂ That is a quotation from an essay by Li Zhengdao, a Nobel laureate and renowned scientist. Celestial and astronomical images are depicted on many relief stone sculptures of the Hart Dynasty, reflecting intellectual and scientific development of the time. The relationship between arts and science, as demonstrated by these stone sculptures, are truly like the two sides of one coin.     

The Legend of Bixi

Bixi is a reptile-like creature that resembles the tortoise. You can find it mostly at the entrances of temples and tombs. People believe that it can travel long distance with a huge stone on his back and enjoy long life. That is why so many ancient stone tablets were carved in the form of Bixi. It is said that Bixi can bring you good luck if you touch it. As an old Chinese ballad goes, "If you touch Bixi's head, you will worry nothing. If you touch Bixi's back, you will avoid any troubles…     

The Colourful Glazed Forbidden City

Colored glaze is a building material that is more solid than timber and more stunning than stone. Its bright and glistening luster gives both form and face to the architecture.     

The Fascinating Carving Art of Ancient Huizhou

<正>Wood, brick and stone carving are three outstanding styles of folk art of Huizhou, a historic area in central China’s Anhui province. Huizhou-style carving i...     

A Temple Fair on Water

<正>Whenever I was in a riverside town of southeast China, I would feel relaxed when listening to melodious and lingering tunes of the guzheng (ancient Chinese harp) and walking through quiet stone     

Historic Buildings in the Karst Region of Libo

The South China Karst region extends over a surface of half a million km^2 lying mainly in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces. It represents one of the world＇s most spectacular examples of humid tropical to subtropical karst landscapes, The stone forests of Shilin are considered superlative natural phenomena and a world reference with a wider range of pinnacle shapes than other karst landscapes with pinnacles, and a higher diversity of shapes and changing colors.     

Shaoxing East Lake： A Miniature Landscape

The East Lake is situated five kilometers to the east of the historic city of Shaoxing. With a wonderful combination of a hill, grottoes and stone bridges, it might pass for a miniature landscape. On a par with the West Lake in Hangzhou and the South Lake in Jiaxing, it is one of the three most famous lakes in southeast Zhejiang Province. Although it is quite small, its delicacy and elegance rank it among the best resorts in Shaoxing.     

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE： GRANARIES ON STILTS IN GUIZHOU

There are a variety of granaries in Guizhou, a southwest province dwelled bv different ethnic groups. Some store their grains indoors while others outdoors; some keep their crops on the ground while others underground. Granaries are made from various ldnds of material, such as bamboo, wood, stone or brick. And their shape also varies, including round, square or suspending ones.[第一段]     

Only the Last Page Left Behind

It is a small town I like most. I went there with my college mates in the 1980s and was quite impressed. The small town extended along the river. From a distant view, overlapping houses and charming roof slopes could be glimpsed through misty morning rays and black tiles and white walls looked plain but elegant. There was a riverside square in the town and a stone bridge in a distance. Adults sat at the bridge, chatting and enjoying the cool while kids chasing and playing on the square. On t…     

Mysterious Jiana Stone Compound

In Tibetan-inhabited areas, visitors can often find piles of stone carved with six-word mystic teaching of truth or Buddhist sutras at lakesides, mountain entrances, monasteries, roadsides or burial sites. Those ubiquitous stone piles, painted in white, red or blue, are the mysterious and world famous Manipile, or called “holy pile”.     

Historic Shantang Street and Suzhou-style Embroidery

Baodai Bridge(precious belt bridge)is the longest stone bridge over the Beijing- Hangzhou Grand Canal,the world’s longest ancient canal.Located 7.5 kilometers southeast of Suzhou City,this multi-arch stone bridge was first built between 816 and 819 AD during the Tang Dynasty.The Yangtze River Delta,where Suzhou is located,is     

ORIGINAL PRINT PAINTING RISES WITH POTENTIAL VALUES FOR COLLECTION

Printing painting usually refers to varieties of painting printed on wood, stone, linoleum, copper and zinc blocks carved by knife or etched by chemicals. China is generally recognized as the inventor of printing painting, but for quite a long time, it has had a poor market for print painting trade, with only few collectors dedicated to for this type of painting. In recent years, with print paintings by master artists gaining outstanding performance in the international market, values of original print painting have begun to be recognized in China＇s collection market.     

BETWEEN REALITY AND ABSTRACTION：Zhan Wang＇s Contemporary Sculpture

Zhan Wang is a pioneering artist in China＇s contemporary sculpture circle.Born in 1962 in Beijing, he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and currently works as associate fellowship with the Institute of Sculpture Creation and Research under the academy. From 1990, Zhan began creating surrealistic sculptures. He began worldng on ＂The Mao Suit＂ series from 1993 and devoting himself to experimental art from 1994. In 1995, Zhan founded a studio with two other artists, aiming to explore relationships between art and society. Based on this studio, he presented two experimental exhibitions - ＂Development Plans＂ and ＂Women ＆ Sites＂. From 1995, Zhan began replicating Chinese classical rockery stones and completed a series of works of stainless steel rockery stone and floating stone. Zhan＇s creations highlight the integration between ideas and objects, with an attempt to transform pure handicraft techniques into conceptual behaviors. In 1998, Zhan released his thesis entitled ＂Conceptual Sculpture： Materialized Ideas＂. From 2000, he began doing experiments on composite art independently. Zhan＇s sculpting works have been collected by many art museums and private collectors, including Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA as well as Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.     

KASHGAR： A Place as Beautiful as Jade

Kashgar means "a jade-like place" in the Uyghur language, because it is known for its vast reserve of beautiful jade stone. Human activities such as hunting and fishing existed here as early as 4000 years ago. About 2000 years ago, one of the 36 kingdoms in the West Region is located here. Shule Kingdom built its capital city in Kashgar during the West Han Dynasty of ancient China and it became one of the four most important towns in the West Region during the Tang Dynasty. Kashgar is no…