Artist recreates a famous artwork using nucleic acid testing scenes in Foshan, Guangdong

An art worker in Foshan city, south China's Guangdong province has painted a modern version of the famous Chinese painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" to record the nucleic acid testing scenes in his city.

The man, named Chen Zhijie, illustrated 15 of the local landmarks in Foshan and 345 human figures in his rendition of the artwork, including medical workers, volunteers and local residents.

The illustration records some of the more moving developments experienced during the drive to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, including one moment when an exhausted medical worker takes a nap on a chair after conducting a series of nucleic acid tests.

Chen himself received a nucleic acid test at the end of May, when he was deeply touched by the dedication of the medical staff he encountered in their work to counter COVID-19, as well as the wider scene of people lined up in rows to receive tests in an orderly manner.

“Since they were wearing protective suits for a long period of time, the medical workers were drenched in sweat,” Chen recalled, saying he wanted to call on everyone to pay more attention to the ongoing prevention work. It took Chen five days to complete the painting after making all the finishing touches.