Gui Haowen's creative photography brings ancient artifacts to life, inspiring a new generation to appreciate traditional culture.
In 2017, the Palace Museum in Beijing exhibited a 900-year-old masterpiece, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. This classical painting attracted a large crowd, many of whom waited in line for hours to see it. Among them was Gui Haowen, then a 16-year-old high school student.
"I took a few photos with my phone, but they couldn't capture the intricate beauty of the painting," said Gui, now 24 and a graduate student at Tsinghua University.
This experience inspired her to purchase a camera and formally pursue studies in cultural relic photography.
However, Gui soon realized that photographing in museums was no simple task, as museum regulations for relic preservation prohibit the use of flash and tripods, and many exhibits are displayed under dim lighting.
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"Taking a well-exposed, clear photo in those conditions was difficult — let alone trying to achieve something artistic," she recalled.
As a result, she learned to adapt and use her surroundings creatively. For example, while photographing a lacquerware relic, she took a low-angle shot that incorporated a museum light into the frame, making it resemble a glowing moon.
"I wanted to evoke the poetic imagery of 'drinking with the moon' described in classical poetry," she explained.
Beyond refining her photography skills, Gui also studied the history of cultural relics to uncover the stories behind them. She found that by understanding an artifact's original purpose and immersing herself in its historical context, she could capture images from the perspectives of its creators or users.
For example, when photographing a silver filigree bowl at the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum in Guangdong, she carefully adjusted the focus so that the shadow of bamboo patterns behind the bowl blended seamlessly with the foreground. The result was a light-and-shadow effect reminiscent of an ink painting. To achieve the perfect shot, Gui took over 200 photos from various angles.
Cultural exploration
So far, Gui has visited around 60 museums and captured countless images. Whenever she travels to a new city, a trip to the local museum is always at the top of her list.
"Museums are the best way to experience a region's culture. They help answer the question, 'Where do I come from?'" she said. "It's the civilizations that have evolved over time that truly set one place apart from another."
In 2022, Gui began sharing her relic photography on Xiaohongshu (RedNote), a popular Chinese lifestyle platform.
Most of her followers are between the ages of 25 and 34, and she has noticed an increasing interest in traditional culture among young people.
"Today's youth see cultures as different rather than ranking them as superior or inferior," she said. "This perspective reflects a shift in mindset and a growing confidence in our own culture."
Gui also noted that changes in museum practices have contributed to this trend.
"Museums are no longer just about displaying collections or providing basic information — they now focus on creating immersive experiences," she explained.
She highlighted the example of the China Grand Canal Museum, where the historical process of transporting goods along the Grand Canal has been turned into an escape room game. Visitors take on the roles of transporters, learning about the canal's hydraulic systems, boat designs, and cultural heritage through engaging, interactive gameplay.
Bridging eras
Last year, Gui photographed a caisson ceiling painted with a starry sky at the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum. Experts had analyzed planetary motion patterns and concluded that this Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) artwork depicted the night sky as it would have appeared during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
"As I gazed at that ceiling, I felt a deep connection to the vast river of history," she said. "Every relic carries a living story. From its creation to the present day, it has been touched and treasured by countless people before finally reaching us."
Experiences like these have led Gui to realize that while people often focus on the aesthetic and cultural value of relics, few explore their relevance to modern society.
She once experimented with an AI tool designed to generate images. When she entered a Tang Dynasty tricolor figurine of a female polo player, the AI consistently generated images of male figures, no matter how she adjusted the prompts.
"We often assume that modern society is more equal and diverse, but this experience made me see how deeply ingrained certain biases still are," Gui said. "Even more than a thousand years ago, there were records of women participating in outdoor sports, yet those histories are often overlooked. There's so much we can learn from the past to inspire our times."
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To Gui, relics are more than vessels of historical wisdom — they are carriers of shared human memories.
During a visit to the Wuhan Museum in Hubei, she came across a painting depicting an ancient dock scene in Wuhan from over 500 years ago.
"This painting holds the memories of generations who have lived in this city," Gui said. "The boats in the artwork, when compared to the modern ferries we see today, create a powerful connection between past and present. This shared memory fosters a sense of unity and belonging among the people here."
This year, Gui will begin her studies at the University of Southern California. She hopes to use her camera to document Chinese relics that have been lost overseas.
"Many of these relics are of incredible artistic value, but they remain largely unknown to audiences back home," she said. "If possible, I want to be the eyes that bring their beauty to more people."
Contact the writers at mengwenjie@i21st.cn
