Wang Sen, an artist of traditional Chinese painting, has completed a picture scroll depicting 130 Peking Opera artists from the beginning of the opera over 200 years ago and the early 1950s.

Speakers at a gathering on Sunday to mark the completion praised Wang's hard work to complete such a difficult project in three years.

Qin Huasheng, director of the Beijing Arts Institute, said Peking Opera was called China's "national essence" as it represented the national spirit and characteristics of the Chinese people and was a great art form.

Liu Xuetao, a Peking Opera veteran, noted that the picture scroll was both useful for reference and a valuable collector's item.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2003)