Dozens of color frescos from the time of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties have been found in Hua'an County of Fujian Province. Specialists say they epitomize traditional folk painting around the upper reaches of Jiulong River.

The frescos were discovered in Nanshan Palace, a protected cultural relic site, as local archeologists cleaned its walls and ceilings in preparation for seeking national-level Cultural Relic Protection status.

Elaborate scenes from famous stories are depicted, including incidents from the Romance of Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi), Women Generals of the Yang Family (Yangmen Nu Jiang), Zhaojun Departs the Frontier (Zhaojun Chusai) and Su Wu Tending Flocks (Su Wu Muyang).

Some are of auspicious images such as of a phoenix amongst peony flowers, carp leaping into a dragon's gate and Chinese unicorns, called qilin.

Yet others portray ordinary people watching opera, playing with babies, boating, plowing and reading. The colors are bright, the compositions in an ancient style and the figures vivid.

Yang Yuzhu, a specialist from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said after his investigation that the frescos will provide important material for the study of ancient folk arts in southern China.

Nanshan Palace, on the eastern mountainside of Nanshan in Liangpu village, was built in 1275 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) as a Taoist building. Later dynasties restored it several times, and the existing buildings are mostly from the Ming Dynasty.

The palace, covering 160 square meters, was listed as a provincial-level Cultural Relic Protection Unit in 1996. The building imitated the Forbidden City's Hall of Supreme Harmony and one of its most notable qualities is that its load-bearing column was made of wood rather than stone or brick, yet still stands after more than 700 years.

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin November 13, 2004)