A grand and graceful fresco was found in the Liren Lane of Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town in Huaihua City, Hunan Province during the maintenance of an ancient building. The fresco is in the form of Character "Fu" (means "Fortune" in Chinese) which is composed by such animal paintings as magpies, red-crowned cranes, sika deer, and tortoises. Circled by 3 rings in the outer space and written in cinnabar on white background, the fresco is the 137th one found in the scenic spot and the largest and clearest one so far.
According to Liang Bin, director of the Agencies of Historical Relics Preservation of Hongjiang District, the fresco has been preliminarily identified as a cultural relic of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The unparalleled fresco embodies a rosy prospect of "Hongfuqitian" (an idiom means being supremely fortunate, with a homophone of "Hong" as Hongjiang in the first word) with five implications of fortune, promotion, longevity, happiness, and wealth in the form of animal paintings. The fresco's creation is exclusive to Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town, and is unique in the whole country.
Translator: Li Xuan
Source: Hunan Official Web Portal