A 14-meter-tall red Swedish Dala horse has been unveiled at the North Bund waterfront stage in Shanghai's Hongkou district, standing until the end of August as a symbol of deepening cultural exchanges between Chinese intangible heritage and Swedish craftsmanship.
The giant sculpture, reportedly the largest of its kind worldwide, serves as the centerpiece of an exhibition titled "A Cultural Journey: Where the Dala Horse Encounters Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage".
The show marks the first public art exhibition held at the Grand Halls, a historic building complex in the heart of the North Bund area, and promises a vibrant East-West dialogue on craftsmanship and culture.
The Dala horse, one of Sweden's most cherished cultural symbols, dates back to the 1600s in the Dalarna region, where woodworkers carved toy horses from pine remnants for their children.
At the exhibition, Swedish artist Erik Olof Wiklund displayed a family heirloom crafted by his grandfather in the 1940s.
Inspired by it, he used focused ion beam technology to carve what is believed to be the world's smallest Dala horse, measuring just seven micrometers in length.
"It's seven micrometers. A human hair is about 100 micrometers. So it's really small, and it just looks like a tiny, tiny dot," said Wiklund.
Twenty representative Chinese intangible cultural heritage projects are also on display, all centered on the horse, as 2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac.
Among the highlights is a horse-themed clay sculpture from Shaanxi Fengxiang in northwest China, representing a craft that dates back over 3,000 years. A young inheritor created the clay horse with innovative design, which has since been collected.
"I completed the piece last October, and it was immediately taken into the collection of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum," said Hu Jinwei, a Fengxiang clay sculptor.
Tang sancai (tri-color glazed pottery) works by two generations of artisans are also on display, from traditional yellow-green-white horses to vividly colored pastel "macaron" versions that resonate with younger audiences.
The craftsmanship, a brilliant low-fired ceramic art, originated during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD).
The exhibition also features innovative cultural products. A Dala scent sachet doubles as a phone charm, blending Nordic and Oriental elements.
"We used pine needles and fir, combined with osmanthus, sandalwood, patchouli and clove. With half of northern Europe covered by forests, we added many woody notes," said Gao Qing, a traditional incense maker from Shanghai's Hongkou District.
Giant Swedish Dala horse bridges China-Sweden cultural exchanges
