Meet smiling relics on World Smile Day

Woodcarvings of two immortals symbolizing harmony and union from the Qing Dynasty.

World Smile Day has been celebrated on May 8 every year since 1948 to encourage people to put on smiles and maintain their physical and mental health. But while this is a recently established special day, smiles can also be found on cultural relics dating back to ancient times.

A smiling eaves tile with human face patterns passed down from the Six Dynasties. Back then, these eaves tiles were designed with human face patterns of various facial expressions to represent gods, bearing the good wishes of the people.