Artists showcase skills at Beijing Daxing International Airport

Calligraphers, painters and craftsmen showcased their skills and artwork to travelers passing through the Beijing Daxing International Airport last week.

During the event, held Monday and Tuesday by the China Arts and Crafts Center, spring couplets written by calligraphers, including Zheng Shanlu and Liu Shaohai, and papercuts of the Chinese zodiac’s 12 animals made by Beijing-based craft artist Xu Yang were packaged as New Year gifts for the passers-by.

Artist Zhang Xiaodong demonstrated an ancient binding technique from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that requires bookmakers to paste the edges of hundreds of pages on a long scroll at certain intervals to ensure the margins create complete pictures across the pages.

Workshops were also run for visitors to trymaking knot buttons and small bells, carve jade pieces and draw on the interior of a snuff bottle.