HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In the mountain ranges of Sichuan, Jiuzhaigou resembles a brilliant pearl inlaid on the plateau, renowned for its stunning natural scenery and rich ecological culture. It embodies the purest vitality of nature, composing a symphony of intertwined lives. Adjacent to the Jiuzhaigou scenic area lies the beautiful “Zhongcha Valley,” dotted with five ancient Tibetan villages. Unlike the renowned Jiuzhaigou, it is known as a gem hidden in the corners of the world, boasting an extremely rich array of flora and fauna, as well as mysterious Tibetan folk customs and cultural resources.
The earth is a silent singer, and animals are the most vibrant notes in its wordless melody. Herds of cattle stand on the grasslands, eagles soar and circle in the sky, and squirrels dart and leap through the mountains… With their unique postures, animals interpret the rhythm of life. Along with the people of Jiuzhaigou, they shuttle among the autumn leaves like elf, guarding the harmonious and peaceful ecological environment in Jiuzhaigou and presenting its immortal legend and splendor through art.
With the arrival of autumn, Jiuzhaigou enters its most beautiful season, called the Season of Colorful Trees. From the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, traveling all the way westward for 2500 kilometers, along the golden latitude of 33 degrees north, we come to the Jiuzhai Beautiful China Resort’s Autumn Leaf Art Festival, which will become the first stop of the Beautiful China Art Action, a collaboration between the China Academy of Art and China Green Development Investment Group Co., Ltd. In this Beautiful China Autumn Leaf Art Action, we collect autumn leaves from the important water source conservation area of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project, connecting multiple key ecosystems and showcasing a rich diversity of natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and human activities.
As the autumn wind sweeps across the land, a journey filled with vibrant colors begins. Let’s head to the Autumn Leaf Art Festival to seek the voice of the earth. The unique colorful autumn leaves of the Jiuzhaigou scenic area will present us a new Autumn Leaf Art Festival, incorporating themes of ecological awareness and natural environmental protection into thematic art sculptures, and weaving our beautiful wishes for future life together. From the perspective of culture and art, we come to fell the nature, turning its voice into a chorus that resonates with the earth.
1
Title: “Tibetan Etiquette”
Work Introduction:
In the rich culture of the Tibetan ethnic group, presenting a “hada” is a noble etiquette symbolizing purity and respect. It is like a sacred bond that is widely present in important moments such as Tibetan weddings, funerals, and festival celebrations.
This autumn leaf art sculpture depicts a Tibetan youth offering a “hada”, which is the highest respect that Jiuzhaigou’s magnificent scenery extends to distinguished guests who have come from afar. The golden hada woven from leaves in the hands of the youth radiates the host’s welcome and respect for the guests. On this ancient land, the Khata is not only a gift but also a bridge for the Tibetan people’s warm hospitality and the promotion of national unity and exchange. In its unique way, it tells the story of the Tibetan people’s welcome and respect for visitors from afar.
2
Title: “Autumn Leaf Zhanian”
Work Introduction:
The song of the earth is endless and eternal. It is a journey of dancing with nature, allowing us to approach this land, listening to the whispers of nature and humanity, and feeling the rhythm of life and the pulse of the earth.
“Zhanian,” a traditional Tibetan musical instrument, literally meaning “pleasing and melodious sound” in Tibetan, has a voice like the early morning mist, light and distant. Autumn leaves become the strings and body of the Zhanian, delicately carving the marks of time and conveying the temperature of the years.
On the “Autumn Leaf Zhanian,” the layered leaves seem like musical notes, quietly waiting for the direction of the wind. When a breeze passes, the leaves tremble slightly, resonating like the ancient Tibetan instrument, using each leaf to tell the story of Jiuzhaigou and playing a harmonious movement between heaven and earth. At the moment, the “Autumn Leaf Zhanian” is not only a carrier of music but also a symbol of the distant and unceasing inheritance of Tibetan culture.
3
Title: “Guardian for Red Bull”
Work Introduction:
Yak is a traveler of the earth, symbolizing the vicissitudes of time and the trials of wind. Yak’s pace is neither hurried nor slow, like a long song of the earth, singing the stories of the frost and snow in the Tibetan region for thousands of years. Their existence is not only the reliance of the Tibetan people but also their deepest faith in the land. The yak’s footsteps tread upon the plateau, and the drumbeats of the earth echo beneath its feet; it has become a trace of life on this land that breathes and shares fate with nature.
There in the mountains, stands the “Red Bull”, whose bulk is adorned with autumn leaves, like a Red Bull of the earth, with each leaf a gift from nature, shining with the radiance of harvest. The red leaves move with the wind, like flowing sunlight, diffusing a dazzling brilliance, reflecting the dawn of hope.
4
Title: “Guozhuang Dance”
Work Introduction:
Tibetan culture is like an elongated silk thread, leading every traveler into this mysterious land. Travelers are not only appreciating the grandeur of nature but also experiencing a soul journey of an ancient nation. The Tibetan culture in Jiuzhaigou is the soul and rhythm of the earth’s song, with its traditional music being melodious and simple, like the sound of the wind in the valley and the gentle singing of the stream in the mountain brook.
The Guozhuang Dance depicted in the work is closely related to the life of the Tibetan people. The various movements and steps in the dance reflect the living habits and labor scenes of the Tibetan people. It reflects their reverence for nature, their comprehension of life, and their emphasis on community unity. The dance steps of Guozhuang Dance tapped on the grassland, like wildflowers blooming in the wind, convey people’s reverence and love for the earth. The people of Jiuzhaigou pay their homage to nature with music and dance, jointly composing songs of the earth one piece after another, resonating harmoniously with nature.
5
Title: “The Flower Closest to the Sky”
Work Introduction:
At the summit of the steep mountains in Jiuzhaigou, we take fallen leaves as a brush to paint the miracle of a flower, which quietly blooms in the place closest to the sky. This flower gently sways in the waves of the sea of clouds, bathed in the purest sunlight, lightly touching the soft veil of the horizon. The flower continues the magnificent chapter of life on the fallen leaves, conveying the whispers of nature to the sky.
Even at the end of their life, the fallen leaves would mark the world with beautiful traces. This is a hymn to the indomitable and unyielding nature of life, and a profound understanding of the natural cycle and artistic creation. This flower, closest to the sky, coexists with the distant blue sky and the pure mountain wind. It is the note in Jiuzhaigou that is closest to the sky. Although fallen leaves will eventually return to the dust, in this brief journey, each bloom is a fervent ode to life.
6
Title: “Journey Among Mountains and Streams”
Work Introduction:
In the hearts of Tibetan people, every mountain or lake owns its vitality and emotions. “Kora（walking around the moutains）” refers to the ritual of walking around a sacred mountain circle by circle, a practice that reflects the Tibetans’ reverence for nature and their quest for the meaning of life, a cultural tradition deeply rooted in their ethnicity.
The artwork takes inspiration from the masterpiece “Travelers Among Mountains and Streams” by the Northern Song Dynasty master Fan Kuan, renowned as the best landscape painting of the Song era. With fallen leaves collected along the journey through Beautiful China and those from Jiuzhaigou, a three-dimensional installation is constructed at the exhibition site. The installation, like a mountain-and-water scroll created from autumn leaves standing in the Condor Plaza rasonates with the divine mountains of Jiuzhaigou, inviting visitors to step into the painting and embark on a contemporary “Journey Among Mountains and Streams” — a spiritual pilgrimage around the highest mountain of Chinese painting shaped by autumn leaves, towards the dwelling place of the spirit and the distant journey of the soul.
7
Title: “Panda Yoga”
Work Introduction:
In the artwork “Big Cat Post”, a giant panda, the national treasure, is depicted engaging in a “cat post” exercise on a square, which is a common pose in yoga and an effective relaxation method to alleviate physical and mental stress. This work not only invites the audience to appreciate it but also allows them to feel the pleasure of exercise for both body and mind, stimulating interest and pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. It is a perfect combination of art and nature, exercise and health, offering viewers a new perspective to observe and contemplate our relationship with nature and how to find a balance between body and mind in the busy modern life.
This artwork is not only an innovative interpretation to image of panda, but also an exploration of the reuse of natural materials. Fallen leaves, a gift from autumn, are granted new meanings here; they are no longer waste thrown away in the changing seasons but God-given materials for artistic creation. We cherish life as much as we treasure our national treasure.
8
Title: “Autumn Leaf Rabbit”
Work Introduction:
In the prelude to the golden autumn, two rabbits made of fallen leaves hold hands, their figures are graceful as if they are messengers of the season, symbolizing the beautiful collaboration between the Jiuzhai Beautiful China Resort and the China Academy of Art. With backpacks full of dreams, they set off from the Liangzhu Campus of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, embarking on a journey spanning over 2500 kilometers. Through mountains and rivers, dawns and dusks, the rabbits finally reach their destination: the enchanting Jiuzhai Beautiful China Resort.
In the year of 2024, in the season where red maples and ginkgo leaves interweave into a splendid tapestry, the China Green Development Investment Group, together with the China Academy of Art, cordially invites you to experience the autumnal romance that travels 2500 kilometers to your heart. Let us pursue the maple leaves tinged red by the autumn wind, and the ginkgo leaves shimmering golden under the sun, on this ancient and mystical land, for a feast of sight and soul.
9
Title: “White Horse is Not a Horse”
Work Introduction:
Time passes slowly, in 2024 we fly with our dreams, living up to our youth, and forging ahead with determination.
A horse sculpture made from autumn leaves stands there quietly. Its golden and orange hues capture the abundance of the fall season. Autumn leaves were once a symbol of the earth’s colors and harvest, and the horse of autumn leaves will create a gorgeous painting under the autumn sunset.
As winter approaches and snowflakes fall, it will be dressed in white. The encounter of leaves and snow, the combination of yellow and white, all look so harmonious and beautiful in the embrace of nature. The white horse is not just a horse; it is the continuation of autumn, the ode to winter, the prelude to spring, and the most wonderful dream in nature.
10
Title: “The Divine Archer”
Work Introduction:
The Tibetan people are renowned for their horsemanship and archery skills. Horseback archery, known in Tibetan as “Da Jiu Da Pen,” is an important performance and competitive event. In the competition, riders shoot at targets placed along the track while galloping on horseback. As the riders carry their guns and leap onto their horses, they charge onto the track and then, with their hands free, they take the rifle and perform three whirls above their heads. Next, they alternately spin the gun once from behind their back and then circle it around the horse’s neck. After these five rotations, they take aim and shoot at the target. Skilled riders can even perform the feat of shooting at the target with two guns on the galloping horse, hitting the mark with each shot.
This sport symbolizes the bravery and precision of the Tibetan people and is an important sports activity in Tibetan culture. This artwork, crafted from fallen leaves, ingeniously combines the beauty of natural decay with the spirit of Tibetan horseback archery, showcasing a vitality that is both relentless and cyclical.
