Exhibit features 123-meter painting of Xi, Tibet and region’s people

Chen Dingkun(1st from right) was addressing a press release on Friday. [Photo by Palden Nyima /chinadaily.com.cn]

Tibet's capital city Lhasa will host a traditional Chinese painting exhibition on Friday that showcases a 123-meter-long master work by Chen Dingkun and 20 other artists that took four years to complete.

The four-day show, "Chinese Dream, Tibet Trip, Gorgeous Tibet", will be held at the Centre for Cultural and Sports Activities. It features Chen's three-meter-wide painting of the Potala Palace and President Xi Jinping surrounded by a large crowd of people representing different regional ethnic groups.

"Tibet is so gorgeous that I do not know how to praise it with words, and I have liked the culture and the people of Tibet since my first trip to in 2001," said Chen, dean of the Artistic College of China, which is co-hosting the event.

Chen, 65, said he wanted to paint the splendid history, unique culture and eye-catching landscapes of Tibet with traditional Chinese painting techniques.

"Moreover, I want to collect apprentices in Tibet next to promote the ancient art to find its own new space on the roof of the world," he said.