Designing a new relationship

At a recent exhibition at the Beijing University of Technology, 21-year-old Polish student Oskar Czajkowsk introduced his graphic design work, the pattern of which, seen from a distance, looks like two interlocking and opposing Cs. The work, on closer inspection, appears less symmetrical as the upper ends of the Cs differ from each other in shape－one looks like the beak of a raptor and the other, the head of a dragon.

"The white-tailed eagle in the Polish emblem is regarded as the symbol of our country. And I learned that the Chinese usually identify themselves as 'the descendants of the dragon'," says Czajkowsk, who studies at the Poznan University of Technology.

"I portrayed the intertwining eagle and dragon to represent the close relationship between the two countries."

His work was in the running to be chosen as the logo for the Sino-Polish University Consortium Under the Belt and Road Initiative, which was founded in March 2017. It won the second prize in the first art-and-design competition held by the consortium.

The exhibition displays some 200 of the winning designs out of the 900 works in the competition.

The consortium comprises 15 Chinese universities, including BJUT, Beijing International Studies University, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and Chongqing University, as well as 12 universities from Poland, such as the Opole University of Technology and the Poznan University of Technology.