Artist hands out green cards for utopia

Artist Mei Le signs a Peach Blossom Land green card for visitors at his performance art venue in Beijing on Oct. 15, 2016. [Photo / China.org.cn]

Chinese performance artist Mei Le has created a conceptual Bureau of Peach Blossom Land to give out green cards to participants in his ongoing art project in Beijing.

The project was inspired by the essay "Peach Blossom Spring" by the ancient Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (365-427), as well as the constantly evolving utopian concept of Peach Blossom Land over the past thousand years. Now, the artist is attempting to create a new pattern for the fabled land.

He said: "To the people of East Asia, Peach Blossom Land symbolizes an ideal and holy world. Over the past 1,600 years, numerous literati from China, South Korea, and Japan have described Peach Blossom Land in their own ways through words and paintings."

"Peach Blossom Land, which takes up no material space and whose energy field covers the whole Earth, is a multi-dimensional realm parallel to the real world."

Mei initiated the non-profit project at the end of 2014 after one of his friends gained a United States Permanent Resident Card (Green Card).

Last Saturday, which was billed as "Peach Blossom Land Opening Day," the artist invited friends from different sectors of society. As a special benefit for the Opening Day, the self-claimed "foreign minister" of the utopia accepted applications for a Peach Blossom Land Permanent Residence Card with no conditions attached. A total of 58 people received their cards at the event.