Artist Liu Baoliang works on his sculptures which portray the five heroes. Photo: Weibo

A set of sculptures portraying the heroes who safeguarded the country during the June 2020 border conflict with Indian troops at Galwan Valley have become internet sensations, touching the hearts of netizens on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo. 

Created by Chinese sculptor Liu Baoliang, five sculpted heads vividly capture the faces and detailed expressions of five Chinese heroes: Qi Fabao, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. Sadly, while Qi survived the conflict, the latter four sacrificed their lives on the battlefield to protect the country. 

Liu spent up to six hours each day, and a total of four days to finish the group of artworks. The image of those sculptures quickly went viral online, and stirred up netizens' patriotic comments. 

"It is cruel to see those sculptures look so similar to those martyrs. It is confusing to feel like we still have them when they are gone forever. Crying," wrote one netizen on Sina Weibo. 

"Please add a tangerine beside Chen Xiangrong's sculpture, that's the loveliest thing about him that we will always remember," noted another netizen, referring to the 20-year-old martyr who left the world with a photo that shows him holding a tangerine in his hands while smiling toward the camera. 

Liu said that, as an artist, he reckons art has the power to communicate. He noted that he created these works not only because he was deeply touched by and respected those heroes, but also he wanted to use such works to carry forward China's national spirit. 

"I'm touched. As someone who also sculpts, I feel realistic works like what he has created can sometimes be quite dry and lack expressiveness. But I really don't think any other interpretation could be better than what he has done in this context -paying homage to the people we love." 

There is no need for too much imagination or creativity, you just need to do the every move right, because every carve here is serious and solemn," Xiang, a young sculptor in Chongqing who is also working on a similar patriotic project, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"He was absolutely right about the power of art to communicate. As an artist myself, I had tears in my eye when I saw those sculptures even though they just stand still. 

The sculptures can document history and focus our memories about those great ones," Daile, an artist told the Global Times on Sunday.  

Liu told media that he plans to donate these sculptures to cultural institutions for educational purpose. 

"Though they are great artworks, I hope I don't see any more of these sculptures in the future," said a netizen on Sina Weibo. 

"The heroes will be with us forever," noted another.