Artist Lian Da preserves Chinese architecture using pen and ink

In the past 23 years, Lian Da has traveled throughout Shanxi province to create over 2,500 black-and-white illustrations of ancient Chinese architecture using only a pen.

When the artist first visited

Liaoning province in 1999, he became fascinated by the ancient buildings. Inspired by what he saw, he visited Shanxi province to explore the Ming Great Wall and view the old buildings, villages, and residences.

He explored and studied ancient architecture and painting techniques in the following years. Whenever he has free time, Lian travels to Shanxi and tries to explore more remote areas, searching for ancient buildings that retain their archaic appearance.

"Shanxi's ancient buildings are significantly reflective of Chinese architectural history," he said. "I tried to draw these ancient buildings to record their beauty."

To him, each ancient building is a record of the local architectural style and characteristics of its era. "I hope to record their image in a way that a camera cannot fully capture."