This teacher drew a city from memory and it's too awesome for students to erase off the board

When Lanzhou is mentioned in a conversation, we would invariably think about the 'pulled' Chinese noodles made famous by an eatery in Singapore's Chinatown.

For most of us who have not visited the ancient Silk Road Chinese city, that's how we visualise it - noodles that's probably dished out from grungy hole-in-the wall shops.

But now a viral video that surfaced on social media has inspired us to take a totally different look at the now prosperous again city of China's northwestern province of Gansu. And even made us want to go there.

If you're thinking it's a sleek tourism video with evocative images of slurp-worthy noodles served in gilded five-star hotels, you're way off the mark.

Keep your eyes peeled as you watch this video showing how a secondary school art teacher used a marker pen to draw the whole city from memory in 40 minutes, in the style of famous British artist Stephen Wiltshire.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9khxOSHIBVI[/embed]

Using the large whiteboard of a classroom as a canvas, Li Jianchun kept the student enrapt as he filled it with iconic features of the city and surrounding details in dark purple.

It's a masterstroke, praised many netizens on social media platform Weibo after the video of Li's feat was uploaded last Friday (Sept 15). They also held him up as a model teacher who tries to broaden the horizon of young minds.

Spanning four metres long, his panoramic depiction of Lanzhou displayed recognisable landmarks like the Zhongshan Bridge over the Yellow River, the White Pagoda in Baita Mountain Park and the Waterwheel Park.

Apart from these places, which are steeped in history and tradition, Li also included the modern parts of the city with its taller buildings.

In the video, Li said he did it to remind the young to take an interest in their local culture.

Stunned by the magnificent enactment, the students whipped out their mobile phones to snap photos of his creation. They were also reluctant to rub it off to prepare for the next class - which was an English lesson.

Some scrambled to copy bits of it on paper.

But they need not have worried. They can always re-watch this video or ask Li to sketch it again - on a proper canvas this time.

chenj@sph.com.sg

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