Immersive experience of the charm of "Snowy Dunhuang", let's go! Encounter this "magical" special train art on Subway Line 1 | Sakya | Immersive
June 10th is Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, and a series of special cultural and tourism promotion activities jointly organized by the 10th batch of Shanghai's aid to Tibet cadres and talents contact group and Xuhui District have officially launched. On the same day, the "Rivers Convergence, Panhong Hainei - Xizang Shigatse Sakya Thangka Art Exhibition" was opened simultaneously at the Shanghai History Museum and the Xuhui District Art Museum, which will display 73 Sakya Thangka art works, including 17 precious copies of the Basiba Painting Biography collected by the Sakya Temple. The Shanghai Metro Line 1 also launched the Sakya Art Special Train on the same day. A subway train painted with the patterns of the Sakya Ancient City and the Wukang Building in Shigatse will shuttle between the two major venues.
"Tangka" is a transliteration of Tibetan language, which is a colorful scroll painting painted or embroidered on cloth, silk, or paper. "Tibetan Tangka" was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. Shigatse is one of the important heritage places of Tibetan Thangka in Xizang. Located in Sakya County, Shigatse City, it was once the political, economic, cultural and artistic center of Xizang in history. Sakya, with a history of 1000 years, is also known as the "Snow Dunhuang". It is not only an important birthplace of Tibetan people in China, but also a hub connecting the Central Plains and Xizang.
The reporter learned from the exhibition organizer that the "Ba Si Ba Hua Zhuan" collected in Sakya Temple is an outstanding representative of Sakya Tangka art. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Sakya thangka artists drew inspiration from historical chapters such as the "Liangzhou Talks" and created 30 volumes of biographies. The complete depiction of the life of the patriotic monk Ba Siba, including his journey to Liangzhou with Sakya Banzhida and his first visit to Kublai Khan, is depicted in the painting biography of Ba Siba. According to the tradition of Sakya Monastery, three monks need to open five locks at the same time to see the true face of this painting.
This exhibition selected 17 scrolls from "The Legend of Ba Si Ba", which were replicated using high-precision technology and mounted in traditional scroll form. These precious thangka works also made their first concentrated appearance in China after being published in 1986. Among them, works such as "The Picture of Saban and Bashiba Visiting Xiliang" and "The Picture of Bashiba Visiting Kublai Khan for the First Time" vividly reflect important historical facts of close exchanges between the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups. They are not only excellent works of thangka art, but also historical witnesses of national unity and national unity. The exhibition also showcases over 50 contemporary Sakya thangka works, including works such as "Liangzhou Talks" and "Golden Bridge Marriage", fully showcasing the charm of contemporary Sakya thangka art.
Especially special, with the support of Shentong Metro, a Sakya art train has been specially opened for this exhibition, connecting the two major venues. After visiting the Shanghai Museum of History, visitors can head to the People's Square Station on Line 1 of the rail transit. They will encounter the Sakya "special train" and get off at Changshu Road Station, then walk for 5 minutes to continue visiting the Xuhui District Art Museum. The reporter noticed that the art vehicle selected the iconic red, white, and gray exterior wall buildings of Sakya, and converged with Xuhui landmark buildings such as Wukang Building and Xujiahui Academy to travel through time and space. Against the backdrop of the "Hui Ai Sakya" logo, the train also features words such as "Zha Xi Dele", "Gong Kang Sang", and "Nong Hao, Shanghai!" in three languages: Chinese, Tibetan, and English, leading people to immerse themselves in Tibetan cultural customs.
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, artist Ciren Wangjia donated his works to the exhibition organizers, and the government departments and relevant units of the two places jointly donated souvenirs to the primary and secondary school students in Sakya County. The actors of the Sakya Suo Dance Troupe, who came from afar, performed flash performances on the squares outside the two major exhibition halls. On June 11th, these 30 Sakya ethnic dancers from Shigatse, who crossed 4500 kilometers from afar, will perform the intangible cultural heritage "Suo Dance" at the Xuhui Cinema. It is reported that the exhibition at the Shanghai Museum of History will continue until August 10th, and the exhibition at the Xuhui District Art Museum will continue until July 2nd, both of which are open to the public for free. The Sakya Art Express will continue to operate until July 10th.
