A future-proof view of past glories

Zhou Lin, a narrator at the exhibition and a teacher at Jiaxing University in Zhejiang province, says that she is impressed by how much the project has motivated audiences. She says that one couple showed particular interest in the mineral pigments used in A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains and asked a lot about it.

One visitor told her that it would be nice to apply the fine color arrangement of A Picture of Auspicious Cranes (Rui He Tu), a painting by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, on modern clothes. And when Zhou was introducing Ink Plum by Yuan Dynasty artist Wang Mian, a child gave a fluent recitation of the well-known poem on the painting.

Zhang Yilin, a photographer working on the project, says that he was a student at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou when he joined the team in 2006. He says that a major reason for him to continue the undertaking over the years is the opportunity to see many significant and rare artworks. "Now, more people can see them because of the information and data we've collected — that gives our work great meaning," he says.