LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Ten acclaimed Chinese artists, living and working in Shanghai, are to showcase their work in a brand new free exhibition taking over the World Heritage waterfront of Liverpool, it was announced Tuesday.
This is Shanghai, will bring together the work of the Chinese contemporary artists, reinforcing a creative link between sister cities Liverpool and Shanghai.
The exhibition has been produced by Culture Liverpool, in partnership with Liverpool's award-winning Open Eye Gallery, and is open to the public from July 14 until September 7. The work will be displayed in the basement of famous Cunard Building, in Mann Island, the Museum of Liverpool, Tate Exchange and the Pier Head.
In addition to the work on display, 2,018 lucky residents are going to be chosen at random and will receive a limited edition piece of art by Lu Pingyuan.
The artwork, To Wilson will see vintage-looking envelopes hand delivered, containing a letter and vintage photographs of two buildings which look incredibly similar -- the Port of Liverpool building and the HSBC Building on the Shanghai Bund. Each will be delivered by a postman dressed in 1930s uniform.
All the work has been curated by Jiang Jiehong - one of the leading figures in Britain for Contemporary Chinese Art and is Birmingham City University's research professor and director of the Center for Chinese Visual Arts.
Jiang said: "This feels like a really personal exhibition. I first left my hometown of Shanghai for Britain 20 years ago and his had changed dramatically since I left -- numerous skyscrapers have risen, narrow alleyways have vanished, eight-lane highways have appeared and elevated roads have created a new version of urban sky.
"Liverpool arouses my memories and experiences of Shanghai, especially its waterfront. The shared characteristics between the two is reassuring. This is a contemporary exhibition which uses both Shanghai and Liverpool as inspiration, and some amazing pieces of art have been produced in response to these iconic locations."
The exhibition is part of Liverpool's China Dream season which is a key element of its 2018 program.
The nine month-long China Dream season of exhibitions, performances and events aim to shine a light on modern Chinese culture and explore the relationship between China and Britain.
Liverpool Deputy Mayor and culture spokeswoman Wendy Simon said: "We hope to introduce a whole new audience to Chinese art and showcase just how impressive and relevant it is."
