Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — An event titled “Connecting the Belt and Road Initiative: The World’s Most Beautiful Poplar Forests” has recently opened, bringing together cultural exchange activities between Hubei Province and Shayar County in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, alongside a joint exhibition of plein-air works by prominent Chinese and international artists.
Chen Bo, a resident artist at the oil painting studio of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Fine Arts, was invited to visit Shayar County in Xinjiang and take part in plein-air painting.
Chen has worked in oil painting for more than 30 years, building extensive professional and teaching experience. Before this trip, his perception of Xinjiang was largely limited to the idea that local people “know how to sing and dance.” This was his first visit to the vast, pristine poplar forests. He said seeing the landscape firsthand was highly valuable to his creative work, adding that plein-air painting requires the stimulus of encountering something unfamiliar.
“When I first saw Xinjiang’s poplar forests, what struck me most was not their beauty, but their distinctive character and mood,” Chen said. The poplar trees, in a variety of shapes, are scattered irregularly across the desert. The landscape differs markedly from that of other parts of China, leaving a particularly strong impression on him.
“A person is not a camera, so when I create, I do not like simply copying a landscape. There is no point in mere imitation,” Chen said. In his plein-air work, he focuses on immersing himself directly in the surroundings and capturing the unique atmosphere of the poplar forests: their grandeur, harshness and resilience. He then combines these impressions with his own understanding and artistic imagination to create a new work capable of moving people.
During his visit to Shayar, Chen completed two oil paintings, each reflecting his own creative ideas and intentions. On the first day after arriving, he saw a sculpture depicting a boat trip at the Poplar Tree Museum and incorporated this unusual image into a painting of poplar trees by the water. In the second work, he skillfully included a classic cultural symbol of Xinjiang, Khoja Nasreddin, giving the depiction of poplar trees in the desert both a distinct regional character and a humanistic dimension.
During the plein-air event, Chen interacted with artists from different countries. One artist from Kazakhstan particularly impressed him. Her works skillfully incorporated distinctive elements such as a small donkey and a dombra. “We share the same creative principles: we both add our own ideas to our paintings. I feel very close to this approach,” he said.
For Chen, who represents Hubei Province, the trip also carried special significance. Hubei has provided targeted assistance to Shayar for many years, and cultural exchanges between the two regions are frequent.
“As an artist, I also want to contribute. I hope to build a bridge of communication through my brush and create works that move people,” Chen said. “After the exhibition, my paintings will remain in Shayar, Xinjiang. If, many years from now, they help people remember these poplar forests and this cultural exchange, that would certainly be a great comfort to me.”
The impressions and reflections Chen gained during his creative trip to the desert have become valuable memories. He said he would take back to Hubei his memories of Shayar’s majestic poplar trees and the atmosphere of the desert, incorporating them into future works and continuing the story on canvas.
Journalist: Zhang Jiawei