A moving masterpiece indeed - 清明上河图. 真的是走进了另一个空间。

Halfway through the planning of the Art Appreciation week, I decided to add another dimension to it: a Chinese piece.

Incidentally, the famous  清明上河图 exhibition was here in Singapore. So, Dumpling and I had a playdate with one of her close buddies and boy, was it an amazing experience. I did read up and prep Dumpling on it prior to attending but nothing more besides discussions.

I just explained to her how the painting is famous because it took a decade to create and from just a painting, it depicts the economy and lifestyle in short based on the five chinese elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth during the Song Dynasty. (Here's a link for some worksheet fun for this exhibition to share.) As we walked through, I would point out the trade, lifestyle, mode of transportation, etc.

While I know that the elements in the painting were magnified 20 times in this exhibtion for clarity, I was just in awe when I first saw the screens. The intricate details and the lifeline animation simply took my breath away.

A "Gong" to start our journey!

Panels to explain the 5 elements displayed in the exhibition hall and how they are represented in the painting

Children had headsets too to listen to short narration at various stations

The start of the exhibit

The scene below shows the progression of the countryside to the capital

The day scene which later changes to...

The night scene

The famous rainbow bridge 虹桥 which depicts trade, mode of transportation and the difference between the wealthy and the poor

There was narration for 22 scenes in total if I am not mistaken just for this main panel

Below shows the busiest inn in the painting which a sign board on the left side indicates that it has licence from the government to make, sell and distribute wines

Dumpling hamming it up

Some basic facts on the production of this amazing exhibition. 2 thumbs up! It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a long while and I felt that I have stepped into another era, another dimension.

真的是走进了另一个空间。