The art of Huang Zhou is pioneering, thus wining the recognition as one of the representative style of fine art of the New China. Huang based his artistic creation on the life of people in the new era, and relentlessly expanded the theme of “border areas” which he created. Huang’s thematic works have broken the obsolete rules that restricted traditional Chinese painting, and evolved into an art form that reflects the real life and keeps abreast with the development of the times. His sketch-like art language, based on contents from both history and reality, and from both home and abroad, has driven the creativity of brushworks and conception.
This painting based on the painter’s travel along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is one of the most well-known masterpieces of Huang. This work depicts from a looking-up angle a scene of a team of geologists traveling on camel-back in heavy snow. The optimism and heroic manners of the characters testify to the enthusiasm and high spirits of the entire people for the construction of the New China. Huang focused on the creation of atmosphere while centering on the illustration of characters, and combined techniques of ink brushworks, sketches and coloring, thus making the work more realistic and expressive.