A Chinese artist has spent 8 months completing a large lacquer replica of China's classical painting "Qing Ming Shang He Tu".

The Chinese traditional painting "Qing Ming Shang He Tu" was created by artist Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It features a panorama of daily life, business activities and social interaction in China's capital of that time.

Hu Kaixin, producer of the lacquer painting, lives in southwest China's Sichuan Province. His creation, which is 2.33 meters long and 1.33 meters wide, required more than 50 kilograms of lacquer.

The tradition of lacquer painting can be traced back 7,000 years to the Hemudu Neolithic site in east China's Zhejiang Province. Lacquer artworks are considered quite unique. They vividly portray the world of Chinese landscapes and figure painting.

Hu has created thousands of lacquer artworks, the most famous of which are a 400-kilogram stele, a pair of two-meter tall vases and the replica of "Qing Ming Shang He Tu".    

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2006)