In 2013, Chinese artist Zheng Chunhui made international headlines for using his craft to nab one of the Guinness World Records. With more than 40 feet of wood, Chunhui’s piece recreates the beloved “‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” a famous Chinese painting created during the Song dynasty by Zhang Zeduan, nearly 1,000 years ago. (The painting is so highly regarded, it’s often referred to as the Chinese “Mona Lisa.”) Included in the piece are the plants, domestic structures, bridges, and boats that comprise the piece. And let’s not forget 550 individually crafted individuals scattered throughout the scene.
A single (massive) tree trunk was used to create the piece, which debuted nearly three years ago. It was originally unveiled at the Palace Museum in Beijing. It reportedly took the artist four years to make the sculpture. The official Guinness website lists the exact record as “Longest wooden carving,” notable for being from a single piece and not assembled from multiple sources.
See the original “Along the River During the Quingming Festival here.