Zhao Chuang is a young artist who has collaborated with paleontologists, publishers and museums all over the world. His focus: BRINGING DINOSAURS back to life. Let's pay a visit to HIS 'Jurassic Park'.

Zhao Chuang's expertise bridges the gap between science and art. Painting talent and imagination are not enough for him to illustrate dinosaurs.

His work is based on factual information that scientists have unearthed from fossils. So, visiting a fossil excavation site is part of his job, in order to better understand the environment the prehistoric titans lived in.

ZHAO CHUANG DINOSAUR ILLUSTRATOR "One of them walked on this land, now I'm putting my feet on it. It's a time-transcending contact. Just imagine, about 200 million years ago, the dinosaur who stepped here was seriously sick or had just been attacked by carnivores. Bleeding, it ran across a river and then fainted and tumbled down here. When we look back at that environment and that situation, it's horrifying and inconceivable."

Zhao's interest in dinosaurs was ignited by a book he came across during childhood. A tyrannosaurus rex picture in it caught his heart.

ZHAO CHUANG DINOSAUR ILLUSTRATOR "Then I realized that this animal was real, not imaginary. In a boy's mind, he admires something powerful. Dinosaurs are really powerful. My curiosity has been aroused since then."

The young boy then combed the local library for information about dinosaurs. In primary school, he would put pencil to desk and draw them in class while dodging the teachers' sight. Today, he still has a dream of composing a book about Chinese dinosaurs.

ZHAO CHUANG DINOSAUR ILLUSTRATOR "At that time I discovered dinosaur books were all from foreign countries. There wasn't a single Chinese book illustrating them. I was determined to change that. So I started out drawing them."

In college, Zhao Chuang poured his heart into studying the ancient giants. In addition to sketching and painting, he spent loads of time learning about their fossils.

2006 saw a big breakthrough for Zhao. His illustration of an ancient gliding mammal appeared on the cover of Nature Magazine, a prominent British scientific journal. It was the first time ever that a Chinese artist's work had done so.

ZHAO CHUANG DINOSAUR ILLUSTRATOR "That was a key step leading me to this course. It marked a fresh starting point. Over the years, I've come to realize that the job requires an understanding about dinosaurs and their living environment. We need to have some knowledge of paleontology and aesthetics. A perfect combination of art and science is our top goal."

Requests flooded in following Zhao's big break. He played a role in the American Museum of Natural History's exhibition entitled 'Dinosaurs Among Us', with a focus on the connection between dinosaurs and birds.

He's worked with some of the most experienced paleontologists in the world, and brought their significant discoveries to life.

WANG XIAOLIN PALAEONTOLOGIST "We can say that the rocks are like an encyclopedia recording the evolution of crust and lives. The fossils in them are vivid illustrations. But the general public and children can not figure them out. It's through Zhao Chuang's illustrations that they have become clear and easy to understand."

Through joint efforts with fairy tale writer Yang Yang, Zhao Chuang established a studio which has initiated a Darwin Project of Life Art. It's a tall task to restore the images of extinct creatures according to fossils, but several well-known scientists from the United Nations have pledged their support.

Zhao's team's work now goes beyond illustrations. They also specialize in sculpting, computer modeling and film making. Their productions are now in high demand across the globe and even collected by fans.

SW, CGTN.