Silk's enduring legacy

Fan Yanyan shows some of her designs inspired by the folk art and history of the Silk Road in her studio in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. [Photo by Huo Yan/China Daily]

She spent a whole year at home in Beijing, resting and contemplating her future.

"My inspiration and passion exploded the next spring, and I knew what to do," Fan says.

Fan started her studio to paint on silk－the "best and irreplaceable material"－crystallizing ancient China's wisdom and beauty. She painted her memories of Dunhuang on silk for 40 days straight.

"It felt like a catharsis, just letting loose the depression and inspiration that had accumulated in my mind," Fan says.

Some of the paintings created in those 40 days are exhibited in her studio in Xi'an. She believes those, which she has titled Dream Dunhuang, are her best works.

Fan and her family returned to Xi'an in 2009, which she thinks is more suitable for her creation because of the city's historical connection with the Silk Road and the Tang Dynasty－a peak in China's ancient art and literature.

She found new inspiration in the old bronze ware, the Terracotta Warriors, stone sculptures and many other places of historic interest in the city, which was the capital for 13 dynasties over more than 2,000 years.