Painting in China

The international Painting in China program provides an opportunity for students to study landscape painting in Chinese ink style in Nanjing and Tangka (scroll painting in Tibetan) in Tongren, Qinghai Province with extensive traveling to major historical and cultural sites throughout China. Students are led by WVU painting professor Naijun Zhang.

Apply online at the WVU Study Abroad website

Itinerary

A short stay in Shanghai will enable you to experience one of China’s most important collections housed in her fabulous new museum. This magnificent collection of painting, calligraphy, ceramics, bronze, jade, furniture and much more will be a breathtaking introduction to this unique cultural experience. Trips to the famed European section, “the Bund” and Yu Yuan Garden will also highlight our stay. Next we will travel to Nanjing, China’s ancient southern capital and famous for its exquisite silk production. Nanjing Arts Institute is one of the oldest art schools in China. With modern studios and facilities, and western style dormitories, it is the perfect host site for an intensive workshop studio experience.

The city of Nanjing is a vibrant, dynamic, modern city with ancient roots, sure to stimulate your eyes, mind and heart to create new possibilities of art making. Extensive studio time will be dedicated to developing technical skills and artistic vision. Participants in the program will be directed in discovering personal connections with the

rich artistic, cultural, scientific and architectural traditions of China and establishing relationships to their own contemporary art making practices.

Members of the Nanjing Art College faculty will lecture and demonstrate their skills and ideas, introducing students to traditional Chinese painting. Studio time is designed to allow students the opportunity to incorporate these Chinese techniques, materials and concepts into your own artistic expressions and intellectual concepts. While in Nanjing we will take an excursion to Yellow Mountain (Huangshan). As the most revered mountains in China, artists, poets and musicians have immortalized them for centuries. In addition, we will travel to Xidi, Hongchun, Suzhou, the “eastern Venice”, and Yangzhou, renowned for their picturesque beauty and excellent cuisine.

Many activities and special field trips are scheduled including Ming Tombs, regional museums, local antique and food markets. Next we will travel to Xian, China’s ancient capital, once served as the powerful center of the Tang dynasty silk trade. Rich in culture and art history, this area is a pivotal site connected to the origins of Chinese civilization. Xian is home to Emperor Qin’s terra-cotta Army, one of the major wonders of the world, Forest of Steles, Shanxi Museum, and much more.

We will leave Xian for Xining to visit Wu Tun village of Tong Ren (Re Gong in Tibetan), Huangnan Zang Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is famed as the hometown of Zang nationality painters. In the early 15th century, the Re Gong Art began to flourish, Tangka painting artists were increasing, who mainly centralized in Wu Tun. We will visit artist’s studio and the Tangka painting masters will demonstrate their painting techniques and materials. Qinghai is a remote area in western China famous for Qinghai Lake, Taer Lamasery and the Zang nationality people. From Xining we will travel to Beijing for the final three day segment of the trip. Once there, we will stay at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and visit the Great Wall, Tainanmen Square, Forbidden City, 798 Art District, and more.