Photo shows a portrait of Qian Kunhua, a Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyr. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Yuzhe)

On the eve of the Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, teachers and students from Northeast Yucai Beihong School of Fine Arts in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, used their brushes to create a drawing of Qian Kunhua, a Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyr who lost his life 73 years ago during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).

Early on the morning of March 12, 2026, Qian Ruojun and his wife traveled from Yixing, east China's Jiangsu Province, to Shenyang. At the CPV Martyrs' Cemetery in Shenyang, they found the name of their uncle, Qian Kunhua, engraved on the memorial wall.

Qian Ruojun and his wife pay tribute to their uncle, Qian Kunhua, a Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyr, at the CPV Martyrs' Cemetery in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Photo/Wang Duo)

On Oct. 25, 2025, China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs announced new progress in identifying the remains of CPV martyrs who died during the Korean War. Eight CPV martyrs were identified, including Qian Kunhua.

Seventy-five years ago, at just 20, Qian Kunhua enlisted without telling his family. Two years later, while on the march, his unit came under an air attack. He was killed at 22. He left behind no photographs.

According to Qian Ruojun, among the entire family, only his elder sister, Qian Xiujuan, had ever seen Qian Kunhua in person.

"My family has wished for an artist to recreate his portrait based on her memories," he said. It was a wish long kept, and only recently spoken aloud at the cemetery.

When the school learned of the story, it took on the task.

"This was unlike any work we'd done before. There was no visual reference. We had to keep checking details with the family, trying to capture not just his likeness, but his spirit," said the school principal Wang Hailing.

Qian Xiujuan is 82 years old and lives in Yixing. With limited mobility, she couldn't travel to Shenyang, so the teachers and students decided to speak with her over video.

Teachers and students at Northeast Yucai Beihong School of Fine Arts have a video conversation with Qian Xiujuan. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Yuzhe)

On their first call, Qian Xiujuan appeared tense as she was not sure whether her memories alone could ever bring her uncle's face back to life. As the conversations went on, long-dormant memories began to surface. Piece by piece, Qian Kunhua's face started to come into focus.

"He had a square face, thick brows, bright eyes, and a gentle look," she said. Then she began to recall the last time she saw him.

"I had no idea he was going off to join the army. Not until that day, when the village gathered us students to see the soldiers off. I turned around, and there he was, standing by the ferry, a big red flower pinned to his chest. When he spotted me in the crowd, he smiled and raised his hand in a wave."

Teachers at Northeast Yucai Beihong School of Fine Arts study the facial features of Qian Kunhua's relatives.(People's Daily Online/Qiu Yuzhe)

After each call, the teachers and students would gather around the sketch, poring over every detail she had described. To capture the expression in his eyes, they studied photos of Qian Xiujuan and Qian Ruojun, searching for shared family traits.

At the same time, they combed through old photographs and archival footage of CPV soldiers, cross-referencing them with her recollections and the family's features, refining the portrait again and again.

Under the guidance of teacher Li Chen, a face gradually took shape on the paper before Zhao Xinyi. Working from fragments of memory, the school's portrait team revised the portrait over and over.

Zhao Xinyi, a student at Northeast Yucai Beihong School of Fine Arts, draws a portrait of Qian Kunhua. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Yuzhe)

"Soldiers of that time had a glow of conviction in their eyes—a spirit unique to their generation," Zhao said. "We wanted to bring that spirit back." At last, when the finished sketch was shown to Qian Xiujuan over video, she went still. Then, slowly, her expression softened into a smile. "It really looks like him," she murmured.

A video call is made with Qian Xiujuan to confirm the accuracy of the portrait of Qian Kunhua. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Yuzhe)

Since then, the school has received similar requests from other families of CPV martyrs, asking for portraits of their fallen soldiers to be drawn.