Artistic scroll may be a world beater

An elaborate and decorative attempt to create the world’s longest scroll is under way in New Zealand.

Hundreds gathered in Auckland City to celebrate New Zealand Cheongsam Cultural Week with the unravelling of a unique and artistic Chinese scroll.

Chinese television host Liu Bing started work on the scroll in Tianjin in March 2014.

The concept is to create an artistic scroll that globally represents the cheongsam, ‘‘a dress that best embodies the beauty of Chinese women’’, Bing said.

It was originally designed to showcase the elegance of Chinese women, with the scroll portraying them through photography, painting and calligraphy.

Bing says women from the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Thailand and New Zealand are pictured in their dresses on the scroll to date.

Talk of bringing the scroll to New Zealand had been circulating in local Chinese communities for months.

Bing and his camera crew were then invited to take photos of Chinese women living in New Zealand by the Federation of New Zealand Cheongsam Association.

The crew is now touring the country, taking photos of more than 300 children and women to add to the scroll. At the time of their arrival on these shores, photos of more than 40,000 people had been put on the lengthy parchment, that rolls out to an impressive 20 kilometres in length so far.

Although the scroll symbolises Chinese culture and personifies traditional Chinese women’s beauty, Bing said he ultimately had more plans for it.

He is determined to apply for the title of the world’s longest scroll record to go in the

book.

At the Auckland launch, there was a large public flash mob which included Miss International Oceania New Zealand Michelle Isemonger and Miss New Zealand Annie Evans.

Bing and his production crew will tour New Zealand until early next month.