Shanxi's Yongle Palace mural replicas debut in Sweden

A mural-themed exhibition in Stockholm is offering Swedish audiences their first glimpse of the famed murals of Yongle Palace – a pinnacle of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) art – in Ruicheng county, North China's Shanxi province, through reproductions and immersive digital presentations.

"The Immortals Chronicle" Yongle Palace Mural Art Exhibition at the China Cultural Center in Stockholm – the third stop on the murals' international tour following Paris and Sydney – runs until Oct 31. It is jointly hosted by the center, Ruicheng county's government and Shanxi Yongle Palace Mural Protection and Research Institute.

Zhou Limin, China's ambassador to Sweden, highlighted Sweden's rich tradition of collecting and studying Chinese artifacts at the opening ceremony, noting that generations of Swedish sinologists and archaeologists have helped lay the foundation for China-Sweden friendship.

He expressed hope that the exhibition would deepen bilateral exchanges in cultural heritage preservation, digitalization, and exhibition practices.

Johan Fresk, director of Studies at the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of Stockholm University and editor-in-chief of Fokus Kina, addressed the audience, saying: "Chinese painting is not just something to be held in hand, spread on a table, or hung in a scholar's studio. It is something you can walk into."

The exhibition comprises five sections: mural art reproduction, color exploration, digital restoration, costume recreation, and cultural product display.