The digital art exhibition, shown first at the Shanghai Expo in 2010, is being held outside of Asia for the first time.
Video / Michael Craig
An interactive exhibition of a 12th-century Chinese scroll painting - hailed as China's Mona Lisa - will be held for the first time outside of Asia at the Vodafone Events Centre next month.
Organisers behind the multimedia showcase - A Moving Masterpiece: Along the River During Qingming Festival - hope the exhibition of arguably China's most famous painting will instil pride among local Chinese and generate interest in China's heritage.
But a Massey University Chinese expert says there is "a mountain to climb" to get New Zealanders to understand the significance of this classic art piece created 1000 years ago by imperial artist Zhang Zeduan.
A replica of the original scroll will be on display at the exhibition, which merges art and technology. An immersive 4D rendering of the 5.3-metre-long painting will let audiences experience 12th-century life in China.
Tao Zhang, technical director of The Qingming scroll exhibition. Photo / Michael Craig
This exhibition made its debut at the 2010 Shanghai Expo in China before travelling the world to cities such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Taipei.
Alan Yanke Wang, president of the New Zealand International Art Exchange and one of the organisers, said he was excited to see how the exhibition will be received outside of Asia.
"The handscroll painting captures the daily life of people and landscape of Bianjing during the Song dynasty during Qingming festival," Wang said.
"The reason the emperor wanted this painting done was to show the prosperity of China at the time, and is so detailed that it shows exactly how Chinese lived at the time."
This was the first scroll to depict both Chinese and urban life and is highly detailed, showing the shops of different kinds and even Chinese technologies that were used during the period.
Audiences get to experience 12th century life in China. Photo / Supplied
"As a Chinese and as an artist myself, this painting instills a lot of pride and by bringing the exhibition here, I hope it has the same effect to other Chinese living here," Wang said.
"For other Kiwis, I hope this exhibition will give them an insight to the richness of the Chinese culture and a sense of our history."
Wang said the Qingming scroll was the single most famous Chinese artwork and is known to every single Chinese national.
Viewers are taken back to ancient Bianjing through the use of 3D animation technology.
Tao Zhang, the New Zealand exhibition's technical director, says the exhibition offers a totally immersive experience.
Alan Yanke Wang, president of the NZ International Art Exchange Association, says Kiwis will get to experience the richness of Chinese history through the exhibition. Photo / Michael Craig
"You see merchants, workers and livestock and you can hear sounds of horns from boats along the river, noise from busy markets and even a herd of camels," Zhang said.
"Every detail is looked into in order to make you feel that you are actually there."
The scenes alternate between day and night every four minutes. There are up to 691 characters moving in the painting during the daytime scenes, and 377 characters visible in the night scenes.
The original scroll is now housed at the National Palace Museum in Beijing, but because of its fragility is seldom displayed and has never been lent for any overseas exhibition.
China and marketing specialist, Massey University Associate Professor Henry Chung said it would be "very naive" to think that an exhibition about the scroll will get Kiwis "rushing to embrace the Chinese culture".
"The Qingming scroll may have a special significance to Chinese, but for non-Chinese it probably means nothing," Chung said.
"There's probably a reason why the exhibition hasn't been held outside of Asia. The organisers will have a mountain to climb in order what they hope to achieve."
Chung said a "massive education exercise" about the significance of the scroll needed to go hand-in-hand with the exhibition.
As part of the immersive experience, the exhibition will also be complemented by Chinese zither performance and interactive digital experiences including time passage and an acting game.
A Moving Masterpiece: Along the River During the Qingming Festival Where: Vodafone Events Centre When: July 5 to July 29, 2022 Ticket prices: From $29.90
