During his travels, the artist created numerous works in which he adapted the special materials and techniques of this style of painting: using black ink on thin Chinese paper, he created works reminiscent of Chinese calligraphy and painted reeds and bamboo forests, whose stems and leaves resemble characters. In the following period, Erni produced many paintings in which he captured his impressions of the trip. He depicted the impressive Great Wall of China, which winds its way through the landscape for thousands of kilometres, and provided insights into the everyday life of the rural population as they ploughed or harvested. Erni captured a special scene with his depiction of eel fishermen in a rice field. Two men armed with large fish traps, their trousers rolled up and baskets strapped on to store their catch, fish for eels in the shallow water of a flooded field. The artist has summarily indicated the rows of rice plants with broad strokes of colour. Particularly striking is the contrast between the lines, reminiscent of gestural abstract painting in their impasto application of paint, and the detailed, representational depiction of the two fishermen. Once again, Erni brings together abstract and representational art in this painting, which have never been mutually exclusive in his work. The Hans Erni Foundation recently acquired this important painting for its collection.