Handmade stories from the highlands

Inside Beihai Park in downtown Beijing, beneath the shade of ancient cypress trees, a horse appears frozen mid-stride, its muscles taut and mane lifted as if caught in the wind. But the image has been fixed in fire.

Painted in mineral pigments yet sealed in glaze, it belongs neither entirely to the world of thangka (Tibetan Buddhist painting or scroll) nor to traditional ceramics. Instead, it exists somewhere in between.

The piece is part of a newly unveiled series at the Cultural Homeland — Blessed Land Rangtang exhibition, which opened in late April at Chanfu Temple in the park.

Now in its third year, the event has become an annual meeting point between the remote Rangtang county in southwestern Sichuan province and one of Beijing's most historic imperial gardens.

This year's exhibition, which runs through May 25, adds a new dimension to that dialogue.

Among the most striking works on display are porcelain panels inspired by the epic of King Gesar — a centuries-old oral tradition often described as one of the world's longest epic narratives, recounting the heroic deeds of a legendary Tibetan ruler and his warriors.

The porcelain series depicts more than 30 generals in elaborate armor, each rendered with distinct expressions and movements. Created by thangka artists from Rangtang, who work in China's porcelain capital, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, the pieces are the result of years of experimentation.

Translating thangka imagery onto porcelain involves bridging two very different artistic systems, as traditional thangka painting is typically created on cloth using mineral pigments, while porcelain requires high-temperature firing, the exhibition organizers note.

Artists have to adapt Tibetan painting techniques to ceramic surfaces. The finished works retain the detailed linework and storytelling associated with thangka while taking on the glazed depth and luminosity of porcelain.