Painting the past

Photo by Liu Xiao / Xinhua

Yang and Jin rented an abandoned factory with an area of 200 square meters in a southwest suburb of Xi'an for 1,000 yuan a month, and started their project.

Working in the shop was tough. One day, Jin broke a leg falling from a 4-meter-high shelf. However, the couple overcame the difficulties and relished the hard work.

"Every time I stood in front of the canvas and drew, I felt like I was communicating with the ancient people and living with them. I feel so proud that we have such beautiful and brilliant art in our history," Yang says.

The couple attempt to draw each line of their mural exactly as it appears on the original, using quality paint and canvas.

By the end of 2000, they had successfully reproduced 256 Dunhuang murals, at a cost of over 1 million yuan.

In 2001, part of their work was displayed in Foshan Library in Guangdong province, and received high praise.

The successful exhibition encouraged the couple to further develop their work and they received support from Duan Wenjie, the former director of Dunhuang Academy, who provided study materials and photos of the ancient murals for the couple's work.