Beijing brush strokes

Painter Zhao Zhunwang, 64, has two home countries, the United States and China.

The world-famous landscape painter left Beijing in 1991 and settled in California as a visiting professor at Northwestern University.

When Beijing made its bid to host the 2008 Olympics in early 2001, however, Zhao returned to lend his hometown a helping hand and has stayed here since.

"As a Beijing native who has focused on drawing pictures about the city's landscape, it is my responsibility to do something for it," Zhao says.

The result is a large exhibition showcasing the ancient city's charm to the world. The exhibition, Famous Painters in Beijing, includes more than 200 paintings from eight renowned Chinese painters.

Albums of the show were gifted to members of the International Olympic Committee and foreign leaders, such as US President George W. Bush, in early 2001.

The album also features 30 of Zhao's paintings. "One of my favorite creations is a picture featuring the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube lying on each side of the city's traditional north-south axis in a backdrop of the golden roof Bell Tower," he says.

A traditional Chinese landscape painter who has worked in the US for more than 10 years, Zhao integrated Western painting styles with traditional Chinese ones to create his own unique style.

He created dozens of paintings to describe the Olympics in an ancient city, from the red wall and green tiles, ancient pine trees to the pioneering modern architecture, from the snow under the fine sky of the western mountains to the stadium by the green lake.

Address: New Poly Plaza, Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng district 东城区东四十条新保利大厦

Tel: 6500-1188

(China Daily 08/24/2008 page16)