An exhibition featuring carpets with map stitching that shed some light onto the status quo of Beijing's ever changing historical courtyards is open to the public at the Italian Institute of Culture and concludes this Friday.

The show, Urban Carpet, was put together as part of the "Instant Hutong" project, and is comprised of eight wool maps featuring eight different courtyards that can still be found in downtown Beijing.

The crafting of the eight hand-made carpets employed an old weaving technique commonly used when producing fabrics in 1970s China.

The Instant Hutong project (www.instanthutong.com) is the brainchild of Italian architects Marcella Campa and Stefano Avesani, who have studied contemporary Chinese art and architecture since 2003. The two moved to Beijing in 2005.

Some of the carpets were exhibited during separate one-day displays throughout the city, but this is the first time all eight have been shown in the same place. This could be spectators' last chance to catch depictions of courtyards that may one day disappear completely.

Source: Global Times

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