Wender·Vista
Zhangjiakou
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePeople's Republic of China
north-west of Beijing, where the steppe begins

Zhangjiakou

— the cold the wind carries down from Mongolia.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city of nearly four million on the rim where the North China Plain meets the Mongolian steppe. The 2022 Winter Olympics put the snow events on the ridges above town, at Chongli, but the older story is the Dajingmen gate, where caravans crossed the Wall on the tea-and-horse road for four centuries.

from the studio
Zhangjiakou
— bring it home

Zhangjiakou, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Zhangjiakou

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

A prefecture-level city in Hebei Province, about 180 kilometres north-west of Beijing, with a population near 4.2 million at the last census. The land climbs from the North China Plain toward the Mongolian Plateau; the Chongli district, in the mountains above town, held the Nordic and freestyle events of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Dajingmen gate, completed in 1644, marks the point where Ming-era caravans crossed the Great Wall on the trade route north.

— the air

The air at Zhangjiakou runs dry and thin. The city sits near 720 metres; the Genting and Taiwoo ski areas at Chongli reach above 2,100 metres on the ridges. Winter daytime highs hold below freezing from late November through February, and the wind comes off the Mongolian Plateau without much in the way of a windbreak between. The dryness is what keeps the snow its texture, and what makes the cold read harder on the skin than the thermometer says.

— the visit

Reached most easily from Beijing on the Jingzhang high-speed railway, which opened in late 2019 and covers the 174 kilometres in about fifty minutes. The line was built ahead of the 2022 Games and stops at Taizicheng for the snow venues at Chongli. Most visitors come in winter for the slopes; in summer the same ridges hold grasslands and the start of the route to Inner Mongolia. The Dajingmen gate and the old caravan quarter sit on the north side of the city.

— where
People's Republic of China · Hebei Province
— elevation
720 m · 2,362 ft
— position
40.8100° N · 114.8800° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
180 km SE
Beijing
capital city
50 km N
Chongli
ski district
200 km SW
Datong
historic city
N
Zhangjiakou
Beijing
Chongli
Datong
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Zhangjiakou — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In Hebei Province, about 180 kilometres north-west of Beijing, near the border with Inner Mongolia. The Jingzhang high-speed railway connects the two cities in under an hour.

It hosted the snow events — Nordic skiing, ski jumping, biathlon, freestyle and snowboard — at the Chongli district on the ridges above the city. Beijing kept the ice events.

A Ming-era gate completed in 1644, marking the point where the Great Wall opened onto the trade route north. Tea-and-horse caravans crossed here for nearly three centuries.

December through February for snow and the Chongli ski areas. Late summer brings cooler weather and access to the grasslands toward Inner Mongolia.

Winter daytime highs sit below freezing from late November into March; January averages near minus eight Celsius, with wind off the Mongolian Plateau making it feel colder.

— about the piece in your home

It has been. The piece carries the cold-edge palette of the Chongli ridges and the older trade-route texture of the city. A framed Medium with a handwritten note from the studio travels well.

The cold blues and slate tones suit Minimalist, Japandi, and modern Asian rooms. The piece holds its own against warm woods and reads quiet on a darker wall.

A single Large covers most three-seat sofas. For long walls a four-tile Mural reads at full scale; a nine-tile Mural belongs over a console at gallery height.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for wet rooms and vertical installations. The colour is in the surface, not on it, and will not lift.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. Skip ammonia and abrasive sprays. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes are scratch-resistant; gentle is still better.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in-house at our Knoxville studio under Reid's eye and hand-finished here. We do not license imagery from outside the studio.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.