Zhan Jianjun (Chinese, B. 1931) "A Lake in the Stone Forest" Oil on Canvas painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting commissioned by James A. Helzer, originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the China 8fen Lake in the Stone Forest stamp issue of September 18, 1981. Only 120 kilometers southeast of the city of Kunming in China's remote Yunnan Province, the Stone Forest is surrounded by one of the most enchanting landscapes in all of China. Here in Yunnan, where the winter is never bitterly cold, nor the summer unbearably hot, a patchwork of sub-tropical valleys and basins spreads across the high plateau. Home to the rare golden monkey and the delicately beautiful camellia tree, Yunnan is a paradise of magnificent flora and fauna. Botanical gardens, zoos, primeval forests, and rare birds and animals cover the province like an ornate painted screen. Bordered on the south by the treacherous Indo-China border and on the west by the mighty mountains of Burma, this intoxicating, picturesque province is almost entirely mountainous. For centuries, far-away Yunnan served as a penal colony where enemies of political despots and war lords were easily banished. Distant and inaccessible, Yunnan's capital city of Kunming was the unofficial capital of Free China during wartime. Here Marco Polo was awed by the 2000 year-old "City of Spring," abundant with flowers and sprinkled with scores of ornate temples and lavishly decorated pagodas. The medley of sights and sounds in Kunming, along with the enchanting landscape of Yunnan Province, are a fitting prelude to the strange and breathtaking sights of the Stone Forest. This beauty and wonder are reflected in a serene, limpid pool in the Stone Forest, portrayed in this artwork. Image Size: 27.5 x 23.5 in. Overall Size: 28.25 x 24 in. (B07310)