Artist uses silk skills to strengthen global ties

For over a millennium, the ancient Silk Road connected China with Central Asia and beyond, so named because silk was one of the prime goods exported.

Today, for designer Fan Yanyan, silk has once again become a medium of cross-border connection.

Inspired by the mural art in Dunhuang, Gansu province, a key hub along the ancient trade route, she has been designing silk works that facilitate cultural exchanges between China and Central Asia.

In 2023, when the China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, multiple works of hers were selected as official gifts for guests.

Fan also led her team to specially design silk scarves for the summit, drawing inspiration from Central Asian elements such as the Aigul flower, which is endemic to Kyrgyzstan, and the pomegranate flower, which was introduced to China via the Silk Road.

In October that year, she hosted an exhibition themed on Chinese silk art at the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Her own silk art centers also serve as platforms for exchanges. The one at the Dunhuang Museum hosted the Kyrgyzstan Intangible Cultural Heritage Special Exhibition last year, and another at the Tang West Market Museum in Xi'an continued to receive Central Asian artisans for field visits.

"I use silk as a medium to present and express traditional Chinese culture and Silk Road culture through original creations, infusing them with contemporary meaning," said Fan, 47. "By telling China's stories with unique aesthetics and attitude, I hope that the world will better understand and appreciate our traditional culture."

For more than 20 years, she has been working to breathe new life into the ancient culture of Dunhuang, translating its visual imagery onto silk and passing on this unique cultural legacy.

"I have dedicated myself to one thing — transforming the murals of Dunhuang into silk scarves," she said. "I believe that creating silk scarves along the Silk Road is the most meaningful endeavor of my life."

In 2000, after graduating from the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, where she majored in traditional Chinese painting, she made a life-changing decision to move to Dunhuang in search of artistic inspiration.

Over the next two years, she immersed herself in the works of the famed Mogao Grottoes, dedicating herself to studying and replicating the site's vast collections of murals and statues that bore witness to the religious, aesthetic and commercial exchanges on the ancient Silk Road.

The relics, which have been eroded by time, stirred a sense of passion deep within her. While being struck by their breathtaking beauty, she also felt a profound sense of cultural responsibility to pass down the heritage, worried that climate change and geological disasters might wipe them off the face of the Earth.

"Digital preservation being carried out by the Dunhuang Academy is one way to preserve them permanently, but what I truly hope for is for them to be integrated into everyday life," she said.

Fan, driven by a desire to share the beauty of Dunhuang culture with a wider audience, found her medium in silk.

Moving to Beijing in 2002 to work as a designer for a silk scarf company, she saw silk as a representation of Chinese resilience and history, embodying the gentle yet strong character of Chinese people.

Fan's designs showcased the artistic richness of Dunhuang, featuring motifs such as flying apsaras and music and dance elements.

Fan said her silk designs seek to both inherit legacies of the past and incorporate modern aesthetics, to leave something behind so that future generations could take a glimpse into the current era.

Fan has been invited to hold art exhibitions and cultural exchange events in more than 20 countries and regions. Over 300 delegations of guests from more than 60 countries and regions have visited her silk art centers.

At the Experience Sharing Conference on International Exchanges of Shaanxi Civil Organizations, which was held in March, Fan was commended for her efforts in promoting cultural exchanges between China and Kyrgyzstan.

"Artistic collaboration and cultural exchange are shared aspirations of our peoples," she said. "I am committed to continuing this work, using silk to deepen international understanding of China and to expand the space for global cooperation."