A school teacher drew a city from memory and it’s too awesome for students to erase off the board.

A school teacher drew a city from memory and it’s too awesome for students toerase off the board.

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Li Jianchun’s classroom masterpiece showcases a bird’s eye view of Lanzhou city with its iconic attractions. Clockwise from top, White Pagoda in Baita Mountain Park, Zhongshan Bridge and the Waterwheel Park.  Photo: YouTube

When Lanzhou is mentioned in a conversation, we 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 visualize 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. It 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.

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4.jpgUsing 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.  Photo: baijiahao.baidu.com

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.

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7.pngPhoto: baijiahao.baidu.com

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The Waterwheel Park, which features waterwheels from different eras, is part of Lanzhou  Cityscape.Photo: China Daily

It’s a masterstroke, praised many netizenson 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 horizons of young minds.

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Zhongshan Bridge was built over the mighty Yellow River with German and American know-how in the beginning of the 20th century.Photo:China Daily
10.pngBuilt during the Yuan dynasty, the White Pagoda was given a facelift in the 1950s.Photo: China Daily

Spanning four meters long, his panoramic depiction of Lanzhou displayed recognizable landmarks like the Zhongshan Bridge over the Yellow River, the White Pagoda on 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 people 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.

Video：https://v.qq.com/x/page/r0551zlj2o4.html

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