On the Cloud by Wang Shaojun receives a special honor award at the event. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In his words, a good sculpture should not only look alive but also "be granted with a soul and, essentially, a sense of eternity and independence". And to achieve that goal, he said, a work that will stand the test of time should reveal in combination one's historical and cultural heritage, and national spirit.

Liu's views of art were shaped during a time when his motherland was torn by poverty, chaos and foreign invasions. And those views are reflected in 34 sculptures by artists from home and abroad that won the Seventh Liu Kaiqu Awards in late October. The awards are an annual initiative launched in 2011 by the China Sculpture Institute in Beijing and Wuhu's city government.

The works are now on display at the Wuhu Sculpture Park in Wuhu, a laid-back city on the banks of the Yangtze River in Anhui province.

The winning works will be shown for a year until a new edition of the awards are given.

The awards are named after Liu to mark his place in modern Chinese sculpture and his legacy, which records the course of national liberation and uprising from the ruins of war.