Coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China, which starts today, renowned Russian artist Ilia Glazunov's huge oil painting entitled "Great China" is on show at the Ruoy Chai International Building in the center of Beijing.

Some 19.5 meters wide and 7.5 meters high, the painting took 74-year-old Glazunov two years to complete.

The life-like work features some of the most representative imageries in ancient and contemporary Chinese history. These include a portrait of Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) -- of the Terracotta Warriors fame -- the Great Wall, another of Emperor Qin's projects, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, the country's first manned spacecraft "Shenzhou V," and a variety of ethnic costumes.

The exhibition, which will move to the Great Hall of the People on October 15-16 and then show at the hall of the Xinhua News Agency from October 18-19, is jointly organized by the Russian Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese People's Association for Friendships with Foreign Countries.

It is reported that Glazunov is looking for a permanent place in China to house his masterpiece, which he painted in Moscow. The final choice of the location is yet to be decided, according to Sergey Y Lebedev with the Russian Embassy in Beijing.

Meanwhile, the Itar-Tass News Agency and Xinhua News Agency will unveil a joint Sino-Russian photo exhibition this morning at the Great Hall of the People.

The event showcases the relationship between China and Russia in the past 55 years using some 200 news photos from the archives of the two news agencies.

(China Daily October 14, 2004)