Wang Zhenmei with his painting Yi Jiang Nan.[Photo by He Keyao/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 18th Beijing Art Expo attracted a large turnout of aficionados from around the world, with one thing in common - the pursuit of art and the different approaches to portraying beauty. From their work can be seen a spirit of life and dreams. Meet some of them.

Integrating western techniques with Chinese traditions

"Though the painting techniques and tools of China and the West are so different, the pursuit of beauty is the same. Chinese and western painting can be integrated," said Wang Zhenmei, a poet and painter known both in China and overseas.

Wang began to paint at the age of 12 and has been active for more than 40 years. He studied celebrated traditional Chinese masters Fu Baoshi and Li Xiongcai before going to Italy for further education in fine art.

"What I am doing is to apply western painting techniques to traditional Chinese pieces. Without losing taste and style, I want those art creations to be more internationally understandable," Wang said.