On April 15, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (YUFE) held the “Craftsmanship·Artistry: A Century-Long Dialogue Between a Swiss Engineer of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and His Artist Granddaughter” exhibition at the South Campus Library. Liang Gongqing, former Chairman of the Yunnan Federation of Literary and Art Circles, attended the exhibition and announced its opening. Wang Jianying, Party Secretary of YUFE, also attended and viewed the exhibition.

Maxia, the Swiss artist and primary owner of the exhibits, and Zhang Jiong, Director of the YUFE Library, delivered speeches on behalf of the organizers and hosts, respectively. Together, they unveiled the exhibition.

Completed in 1910, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway was Yunnan’s first railway and China’s first international railway, marking the beginning of modernity in Yunnan and significantly impacting its society. In 1903, Swiss engineer Otto Meister traveled to Yunnan to participate in the construction of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. The exhibition features engineering photographs, design sketches, and local cultural photographs taken by Otto Meister during the railway’s construction, which hold immense historical value.

Following the exhibition’s opening, the organizers and the university held a symposium to discuss the spirit of the Chinese laborers who built the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the railway’s historical and cultural significance, and contemporary issues related to tourism development and cultural excavation.

Key representatives from the Publicity Department, the School of Media and Design Arts, the Library, the Zhong Zhengshan Art Museum, and the Dian Merchants Museum attended the event.