Visual artists from around the world recently explored the beauty and uniqueness of Guizhou province in Southwest China at the five-day Visual@China Guizhou 2024 trip, which was jointly held by China Daily and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Guizhou Provincial Committee. The artists used pictures, photos and videos to present and promote the region that abounds with picturesque natural scenery and cultural heritage.

Ahead of his first trip to China in September, Benjamin Thomas Kirchner, an illustrator from Bath, England, was intrigued by the magical, fairy tale-like beauty of the country's landscape and architecture, as depicted in ancient scrolls and modern films.

Kirchner had convinced himself the landscape and buildings surely wouldn't measure up to what he imagined, but that all changed when he visited Yunshantun village in Anshun of Guizhou province. Upon seeing the 600-year-old former military post, perched high on a hill and framed by white clouds against a breathtaking blue sky, he exclaimed: "I realized that what I thought was a fantasy or an exaggerated vision of Chinese rural scenery was very much a real thing."

As an illustrator who travels a lot and whose work is regularly seen in major international publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, Kirchner said seeing the scenery of Guizhou with his own eyes was "incredibly stimulating and inspiring" — just like the fairy tale China of his imagination. "It has been a joy to photograph and sketch the surroundings, and I know this will inspire my creative work for a long time after this visit," he said.