Hungarian nationals tour North China province to explore ancient culture and create diverse works 

A painting of the Hall of Sacred Mother in Jinci Temple created by Hungarian artist Abel Szabo. YANG JIE/FOR CHINA DAILY

Twenty-three Hungarian artists wrapped up a 13-day trip to sketch ancient buildings in Shanxi on June 28, taking home many of their works.

Organized by the Shanxi Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shanxi International Communication Center, the event covered seven Shanxi cities: Taiyuan, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Datong, Jinzhong, Linfen and Lyuliang. The tour members visited a dozen ancient architectural and heritage sites in these cities.

The group of artists arrived in Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi province, on June 16. Their journey started the next day at Shanxi Museum, aiming to get a glimpse of Shanxi's culture and history.

At the museum, Abel Szabo, a painter and winner of the Mihaly Munkacsy Award, a prestigious Hungarian fine arts award, showed interest in the glazed pottery artifacts on display.

"Most of the pottery items are color-glazed," he said. "This is something unique to the ancient Chinese pottery industry."

Asztalos Zoe, a designer, paid special attention to the patterns of pottery items and construction components. "I think these patterns can provide new inspiration for design," she said.

In Taiyuan's Jinci Temple, Abel was amazed with the Hall of Sacred Mother and decided to use it as the object of his painting. The hall is a wooden structure built during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), one of the earliest buildings in the temple.

Abel is an enthusiast of Chinese culture; he visited China eight years ago to learn Chinese calligraphy and painting, aiming to incorporate Chinese painting skills and aesthetics into his own.

Examining the hall for several minutes, the artist told his companions that the painting should not only focus on the building. "The trees, the mountains and the sky should be integral parts of the painting," he said.

After spending several moments in silent observation, he began to draw, completing a painting that combined realism with Chinese aesthetics by the end of the day.

A visit to the Sakyamuni Pagoda at Fogong Temple in Shuozhou's Yingxian county was a profound experience for the artists. This 67-meter-tall pagoda, built in 1056, is the tallest all-wooden pagoda tower in the world.

While astonished by its size, the Hungarian artists also admired the rich details of the pagoda.

Painter Varosi Gabriella noticed the exquisite use of dougong brackets. She was told by a tour guide that the bulk of the tower is supported by the brackets and the dovetailing technique acts as a shock absorber, helping it survive several major earthquakes throughout history.

Watercolor painter Szabo Klara Petra was attracted by the swallows who built their nests in the gaps among the dougong brackets.

She was told that the pagoda and the swallows form an ecosystem of coexistence: the pagoda provides a habitat for the birds while the swallows protect the pagoda by eating the insects that threaten the wooden structure.

"This is also something inspirational," Szabo said. "When you draw static things, an addition of living things, like birds and animals, can breathe life into your work."

The tour explored not only ancient architecture but also everyday life and nature. On June 26, members arrived at the ancient town of Qikou in Linxian county, near the Yellow River gorge. The town boasts a large number of old residences built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

It was a quiet place as it was the off-season for tourism. The artists had the chance to visit local families, drawing portraits of the local people — seniors resting at their doorstep, vendors on the streets and boatmen by the Yellow River.

At the end of the tour, the artists left some of their works in Shanxi for exhibition, especially at the China (Shanxi)-Hungary Exchange Center for Arts. The center, located at the Taiyuan-based Shanxi University School of Fine Arts, was opened during the trip.

The artists' trip went viral on several short video platforms in partnership with the Shanxi International Communication Center, garnering interest in both China and Hungary.

Feng Siquan contributed to this story.

Abel applies paint to a picture of a structure at Shuanglin Temple in Pingyao. FENG SIQUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY 

Abel sketches in pencil the Sakyamuni Pagoda in Yingxian county. WEI BO/FOR CHINA DAILY

Hungarian artists pose for a group photo at Yungang Grottoes, Datong. YAN CHANGJIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY 

Hungarian artists are led by a guide at Huayan Temple in Datong. YAN CHANGJIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY