Painting by Pakistani artist M. Akram Dost Baloch. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As part of the cultural exchange between China and Pakistan, five Pakistani artists were invited to China for a two-week art tour and exhibited their works made during the trip at the 798 art zone in Beijing on August 23.

During their stay in China, the artists visited many tourist destinations in Beijing and Bashang, Hebei province. They also talked with Chinese artists during their stay at Songzhuang in Beijing, where lots of young Chinese artists live.

It is the first time for all five artists to visit China.

"Chinese people are more open and friendlier than my people. There is no boundary between people here," said Pakistani artist M. Akram Dost Baloch.

The works Baloch painted in China mainly focused on people’s faces — faces of both Chinese and Pakistanis together against a totally black background or against colorful urban city lights.

"The faces I draw are not beautiful ones but abstract. I try to express my thoughts of social issues via my paintings," said 55-year-old Baloch.

Of the five artists, Mobeen Ansari is the youngest at 27. He is a photographer and talented at capturing people’s faces. Ansari has bad hearing but said, because of that, he can better understand people without words and read people’s inner minds.

"What surprised me was that more women than men here are willing to be photographed, " Ansari said.

The young photographer was excited that when he captured interesting figures via his lens, people were willing to pose for him instead of saying no.

The only female artist, Zaira Ahmad Zaka, is a printmaker. She said that Pakistan has more and more female artists nowadays. Talking about her art tour of China, she also said people here are helpful and she has made a lot of friends.

"When I return home, I will invite Chinese artists to visit my studio in Pakistan," she said.

Chen Xiangning, deputy director of the China Arts and Entertainment Group that organized the workshop, said they have organized similar art exchanges between China and other countries for years. He said via the workshop, foreign artists have a chance to experience Chinese culture and traditional arts in China.