Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian. From 1981 to 1985, he studied at the Stage Art Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. In 1986, he moved to Japan to further his studies, where he began exploring the artistic potential of gunpowder as a medium. Starting in 1989, he launched the Project for Extraterrestrials series—large-scale explosion projects that examine human activity from a broader perspective, continuously pushing the boundaries of artistic innovation. In 1993, he carried out the Project to Extend the Great Wall of China by 10,000 Meters at Jiayuguan, integrating gunpowder explosions with Chinese historical and cultural narratives. This project further solidified his international reputation in the art world.

In February 1993, Cai Guo-Qiang staged an event in the Gobi Desert, west of Jiayuguan, Gansu, where he laid a 10-kilometer-long gunpowder fuse along the westernmost end of the Great Wall and ignited it at dusk. For approximately 15 minutes, this fiery serpent blazed across the desert landscape, appearing from a distance as an extension of the Great Wall—an awe-inspiring spectacle. This monumental act was titled Project to Extend the Great Wall of China by 10,000 Meters: Project for Extraterrestrials No. 10. By utilizing the Great Wall and gunpowder—both typical Chinese symbols—Cai Guo-Qiang crafted an artistic statement directed toward the universe.

This 1994 manuscript serves as a fixed imprint of that explosive moment, capturing the fleeting flames on paper. The marks left by the gunpowder blast form an intricate interplay of black and gray, resembling drifting clouds or the scorched imprints of history itself. This cross-media fusion was strikingly innovative and represented a highly avant-garde experiment in contemporary art during the 1990s. Today, this manuscript stands not only as a refined work of art but also as a record of an unrepeatable artistic practice.