From unstructured artist communities to commercial zones composed of studios and galleries, art parks in China originated in the late 1990s, going through several stages from initial exploration to cultivation and prosperity. The Xinzeyuan Artists’ Village in Jiading’s Jiangqiao Town is one place where painters, sculptors and other artists gather and share inspiration.

Let us introduce you to some of the young artists who work at the village, and see how they carve on porcelain, make traditional Chinese musical instruments, and carve and mould figures with silica gel and wax.

Happiness in a beautifully made guqin

As the oldest string musical instrument in China, guqin (a seven-string zither) boasts a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years. The earliest found guqin was unearthed from the tomb in central China’s Hubei Province dating back to 2,400 years.

It was favored by cultural celebrities such as Confucius (551-479 BC), Sima Xiangru (179-118 BC), and many poets in the Tang (618-907 AD) and Song (960-1127 AD) dynasties.

In 2003, the instrument was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

However, there are only a few people who can make the instrument now, and even fewer who can make a top quality product.

Tian Yu, a fine art teacher from rural area in east China’s Shandong Province, decided to make the challenge of making guqin and opened a studio “Jing Pu Fang” in Xinzeyuan Artists’ Village.

The 40-square-meter studio is separated by a wooden board into two rooms. In the east room there are several guqin hung on a wall and one placed on a table for visitors to play. The west room is a guqin making workshop.

The sounds of sawing timber and the scent of wood come from this room every day, as guqin maker Tian pursues his dream.

Just like the color of guqin, Tian’s skin is tanned. Taller over 1.8 meters, Tian is a man of few words, only except when he talks about guqin.

Tian used to be an art teacher at his hometown in Mengyin County, Shandong, then left for Shanghai to further his studies in art.

In his early days in the city, he spent many hours listening to the radio and became keen on the music of guqin.

 He decided to learn a practical skill that interested him and could earn him a living.

In 2010, he went to Beijing to learn how to make guqin and two years later he opened the studio “Jing Pu Fang.”

He said he had been interested in woodworking since his childhood and enjoyed the feeling of creating something out of raw materials.

A guqin maker can produce at most 15 guqin a year and the craft requires meticulous attention to details. Working on just one piece of wood takes at least several days.

It seems like tedious work to many people but Tian says he enjoys his solitary life and the happiness when a beautiful instrument is born from his hands.

 Tian’s first guqin was bought by a Taiwanese customer, who said he bought it because he appreciated Tian’s persistence and wanted to encourage him. Some days later the buyer came back with his sister, who was impressed by his excellent skill. She ordered 20 more.

Nowadays Tian’s work is highly praised by the customers, as well as guqin artists. Gong Yi, president of Shanghai Guqin Association, has also given Tian great encouragement.

 Tian says it is his duty to inherit and promote the craft of guqin making, and hopes to introduce the instrument to the younger generation.

Wax figure maker the very definition of a model worker

Yan Bingkai is surrounded in his studio by wax figures of world renown people — including Barack Obama, Bruce Lee and Fan Bingbing. The models are made of silica gel and correct in every detail down to their hair and wrinkles.

The material is an improvement of traditional wax as it looks more like human skin, and has the elastic effect.

Visitors to Yan’s studio first encounter the figure of a 30-year-old man with short hair — a model of the artist himself.

Yan sets high standards for himself — the body’s proportions, the structure, skin color and hair — all the details must be perfect.

Yan said he usually needs to plant 20,000 to 30,000 hairs on a statue’s head very carefully, especially at the edge of the hairline. Most of the hair is real human hair.

Yan often spends more than 10 hours a day on his creations. He says that making a figure needs 15 different processes.

Yan’s love for art started at his childhood when he was keenly interested in painting, a skill which helped him to be enrolled into the Southwest China Normal University majoring sculpture.

After graduation, he didn’t take up teaching but chose to be a sculptor to earn more money.

Later, he joined a sculpture company in Shanghai. At that time, the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum had opened in the city, and wax statues were attracting the attention of artists, collectors and the public.

In 2010, Yan established his own sculpture company in Xinzeyuan Artists’ Village, changing his identity from artist to businessman.

Yan considered the beginning of his entrepreneurship as the most difficult moment. “We were not famous at that time, and for several months we had to worry about how to pay salaries for the six employees,” Yan said. “Fortunately, every time we were in despair, some customers would show up and pull us back from shutting up. I think it was the God rewarding our diligence.”

Although Yan is now a businessman, he still spends time creating statues. In his office, a silica gel statue “The Girl Who is Playing Her Cell Phone” from his college days stands as a reminder of how his career began.

Yan says his ambition for the future is to become a Madame Tussauds of China. The Madame Tussauds models are only for exhibitions and are not sold to outsiders. Considering the growing domestic market, Yan believes this situation offers a great opportunity for his company.

 “Compared with traditional wax statues, silica gel statues fit the needs of Chinese market better,” he said, “The artistic performance, long service life and lower maintenance cost, all these make silica gel statues a pretty good option for museums, memorial halls, theme parks and other cultural venues.”

This year, Yan has received orders for 80 silica gel statues from two wax museums. He plans to open a wax museum with his own brand next year.

Porcelain sculptor creates a world of magnificence

Located at an unimpressive corner of Xinzeyuan Artists’ Vilalge, Shilang Porcelain Sculpture Studio attracts visitors with its magnificent artworks.

Among the 100-plus artworks, three were awarded golden prizes: “The 108 Heroes of the Water Margin,” “The Elk King” and “The Wind of King.”

All were created by young artist Chen Yinfu.

Chen said the art of porcelain sculpture originated in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) liked writing inscriptions at many places.

To preserve the emperor’s calligraphy for eternity, artists in the royal palace printed and carved the calligraphy on the porcelain. Gradually it has become a special kind of art.

Using hammer and chisel, the artist needs to master special technique to carve on the porcelain. To make the figures and patterns vivid, the artist needs an education background of fine arts.

Born in 1979, artist Chen graduated from Luxun Art College of Yancheng City in Jiangsu Province, majoring porcelain carving.

After graduation, he found himself a job in a state-owned enterprise but practiced porcelain carving in his spare time.

In 2005, Chen quit his job and opened the Shilang Porcelain Sculpture Studio, becoming a full-time artist.

According to Chen, porcelain sculpture is everything but an easy job.

First of all, the artist needs to make a good design of the work. Then using a set of hammer and chisel as a pen and porcelain as paper, the artist needs to carve on the fragile porcelain very carefully. After that he will paint it with different colors.

So each piece of artworks takes Chen a lot of time, from a dozen of days to even over one year.

During the whole process, he must be very careful, since any flaw in carving or painting might ruin all his efforts he has made.

After many years of practice, Chen has come out as a porcelain sculpture specialist.

Some of his artworks have been presented as gifts to high-rank government officials from foreign countries, and some are sought after by collectors.

Although Chen’s works were highly praised by experts from China’s Ministry of Culture, he still remains modest.

Chen says that his only dream is to let more people in Shanghai know and love this art form of porcelain sculpture.