Featuring more than 12,000 figures, 2,000 buildings, 400 boats and 50 bridges, a 40-meter-long woodcarving masterpiece of the ancient scroll painting "Prosperous Suzhou" made its debut on Friday.

The gigantic artwork was unveiled at the ninth China Suzhou Creative and Design Cultural Industry Expo (CCDCIE), stunning thousands of visitors with its vivid details and exquisite craftsmanship.

The annual event opened on Friday at the International Expo Center in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. It was the first cultural expo in China since the coronavirus outbreak.

This year's CCDCIE, covering a 40,000-square-meter exhibition area, consists of 11 branch venues, 43 theme exhibition halls and more than 400 exhibitors, featuring some 20,000 creative designs in various categories.

The unveiling of the woodcarving masterpiece "Prosperous Suzhou" in particular drew large crowds. 

'Magnificent design and sophisticated details'

The work, 40.47 meters in length and  2.13 meters in height, is based on the renowned ancient scroll painting "Prosperous Suzhou," depicting the bustling urban Suzhou in ancient China.

Created by the Chinese court painter Xu Yang in 1759, the original scroll painting "Prosperous Suzhou," initially entitled "Burgeoning Life in a Resplendent Age," combines a Western perspective with traditional Chinese style.

The 12-meter-plus-long scroll is invaluable from both a historical and an artistic point of view as it depicts in intricate details the local conditions and customs of Suzhou in the mid-18th century.

It took 11 years for 60 artisans to complete the woodcarving work. Each small figure took a craftsman five to six hours to carve, and the final work used a total of 70 tons of precious rosewood, said, Shi Dongmei, the owner.

"I have strict requirements for the craftsmen as we were remaking such a famous painting. I hope that they will show the best skills," said Shi, who came up with the idea to create a woodcarving remake in 2005.

"Every detail must be very delicate, and each figure's facial expressions and manners must be different. They cannot be the same."

Veteran craftsman Wang Yangchun, one of the creators behind the work, described it as "the most perfect work in my 33-year carving career."

The gigantic woodcarving artwork won the top prize at the Mountain Flower Awards – the Oscars in the fields of folk literature and arts in the country – in 2018 for "its magnificent design and sophisticated details."

Sharing for better understanding and inheritance

Shi said that she accepted the invitation from the expo organizers without hesitation, as she hoped the audience could have a better understanding of local cultural heritage and help pass it on while enjoying the beauty of the artwork.

"Arts and crafts need to be shared," she said.

Launched in 2012, the CCDCIE has grown to be an important platform for creative talents and enterprises at home and abroad to communicate and cooperate.

This year's event, featuring various online and on-site activities, will run through August 2.

(Video by Hong Yaobin)