New | Chinese photographer spoofs famous ancient painting with images of modern social ills

Images of a 25-metre-long photographic art piece which offers a new twist on a famous 900-year-old painting have gone viral among mainland internet users.

The long composite piece addresses 40 topical social issues and features hundreds of figures. It draws inspiration from the famous long painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival, an artwork that dates back to about the 12th century which features more than 800 figures.

The piece, Along the River During the Qingming Festival 2013, made up of hundreds of photographic images, was exhibited at this year’s Lianzhou Foto, an annual photography festival held in northern Guangdong province. But when a spectator posted images of the artwork on Weibo at the weekend, they quickly went viral.

By Monday morning, the Weibo post had been reposted more than 30,000 times, drawing more than 3,000 comments. Most of the reaction was positive.

Dai Xiang, an artist and photographer, said it took him and two assistants two and half years to finish the work. Hundreds of models appeared in the work, with Dai himself showing up as the central figure.