The flowers and greenery of PolyU’s campus, the architectural masterpieces of the Jockey Club Innovation Tower and Hotel ICON, and the portrait of a PolyU student – condensed in a piece of paper cutting art by Zhang Jiahe impressed adjudicators of the 6th National University Art Exhibition and Performance Event, who awarded his imaginative artwork second prize.

Zhang, a Year 2 student from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, created the award-winning work with the guidance of his tutor, Los Angeles-based paper cutting artist Ms Bovey Lee, at PolyU’s Art Pal Paper Cutting Workshop.

“The campus scenes in this paper cutting art form the unique memory of my campus life,” Zhang said in his explanatory note. “By employing contemporary paper cutting techniques, I have created these passionate patterns.”

The event, organised by the Ministry of Education, was held in Chengdu, Sichuan province in May with nearly ten thousand teachers and students from around the country participating. Besides art workshops and exhibitions showcasing university students’ creativity, there were also artistic performances and conferences during the eight-day event.