★ A masterpiece by Yang Yunsu, one of the brightest rising stars in China’s illustration scene! Her work “The Wheel of No Return” captivated the judges at the 6th GGAC (Global Game Art Concept Competition) with its grand, cohesive world‑building, earning her the Grand Prize and securing a permanent place in the collection of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum.
★ This book marks the first time “The Wheel of No Return” has been presented in print format. It also set a record in China’s publishing world, raising over 2 million yuan through crowdfunding on Modian, China’s largest platform, with support from 8,503 backers—making it a truly phenomenal art‑crowdfunding project!
★ Through a grand worldview, the book explores the origin of all things—from cosmic dust to the nuances of life—showcasing the fusion of the material and the spiritual. Structured in five chapters, the narrative progresses from a general overview to the breaking of cycles and toward new beginnings. This pure visual narrative offers a profound aesthetic exploration of matter, time, and essence, making it a must-have for art enthusiasts and picture book collectors.
★ Awards and accolades for this work:
·2024: Gold Award for Outstanding Graduate Thesis Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts
·2024: Acquired for the permanent collection of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum
·2024: Gold Award (Best Student Comic) at the 21st China Animation Golden Dragon Awards
·2024: Grand Prize at the 6th GGAC Competition
·2024: Illustration Jury Prize at the New One Awards
·2024: Bronze Award at the 3rd CIAC Competition
·2024: Bronze Award in the North China Region of the 2024 KTK Jin Daqiang Design Award
·2024: First Prize in the National Young Designers Competition
·2025: Merit Award in the Illustration Category of the iJungle Illustration Awards
·2025: Shortlisted for WIA 2025
·2025: Selected as an Official Selection and awarded a Jury Prize at LICC
·2025: Longlisted for BIBF 2025
·2025: Golden Monkey Award (Potential Comic)
·2025: National First Prize at Milan Design Week
·Honorable Mention at 3x3 International Illustration
·Silver Award at the JIA Illustration Award 2025
·2025: Excellence Award at the 12th Hiii Illustration International Illustration Competition

“In the course of changing times, we have not only grown physically distant from nature but, it seems, have also gradually forgotten that we ourselves are creatures of the natural world.”

This is the starting point of Yang Yunsu’s creation of “The Wheel That Never Returns.” Tracing the origins of life, and grounded in the process whereby “material elements journey from the cosmos to Earth, then into the spirit of living beings, and finally back to the universe,” she was struck by a profound sense: all things are one. Thus, she painstakingly fashioned a world that emerges from nothing, teems with ceaseless vitality, and ultimately returns to emptiness.

The book is divided into five chapters: the first provides an overview and introduces the logic governing the world; the second depicts the formation of primordial matter; the third recounts how a vast system breaks down into cyclical sub‑systems and is eventually undone; the fourth portrays the interplay of matter and spirit; and the final chapter offers both a conclusion and a new beginning. Each chapter is a probing inquiry into the depths of the cosmos.

From the dust of the boundless universe to the vivid minutiae of life, from grand visions of the world to the concrete manifestations of the four seasons and myriad things, this work unfolds—through pure visual narration—an aesthetic exploration of matter, time, and the very essence of all things. It is a collector’s masterpiece that art enthusiasts and picture‑book connoisseurs cannot afford to miss.

Yang Yunshu
Yang Yunshu was born in Chongqing and completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the Picture Book Creation Studio of the School of Urban Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. She is one of the brightest rising stars in China’s illustration scene, with her work earning widespread international acclaim. At the 6th GGAC (Global Game Art Concept Competition), she stunned the judges with “The Wheel That Never Returns,” a grand and fully realized world‑building masterpiece, winning the Grand Prize and securing permanent inclusion of the work in the CAFA Museum’s collection. Her representative works include “What a Strange Case” and “The Drifting Little Painting,” while her latest major project, “The Wheel That Never Returns,” has been published by the People’s Literature Publishing House.

Awards and Recognitions:
- 2021: “Clouds Rolling” was acquired by the School of Urban Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
- 2023: “What a Strange Case” received the Central Academy of Fine Arts Award for Outstanding Thematic Creation.
- 2023: “The Lost Little Painting” was selected for the China Artists Association’s “100 Children’s Picture Books” project.
- 2023: “Lost” and “The Lost Little Painting” were shortlisted for the 10th Hiii Illustration International Illustration Competition.
- 2024: “The Centuries‑Old Solitude” was shortlisted for the 11th Hiii Illustration International Illustration Competition.
- 2024: “The Wheel of No Return” won First Prize in the Central Academy of Fine Arts’ Outstanding Graduation Design Awards.
- 2024: “The Wheel of No Return” was permanently collected by the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum.
- 2024: Received the Gold Award for Best College Comic at the 21st China Animation Golden Dragon Awards.
- 2024: Won the Grand Prize at the 6th GGAC Competition.
- 2024: Selected for the New One Awards graduation design competition and awarded the Illustration Jury Prize.
- 2024: Earned the Bronze Award at the 3rd CIAC Competition.
- 2024: Secured the Bronze Award in the North China Region of the 2024 KTK Jin Daqiang Design Award.
- 2024: Claimed First Prize in the National Young Designers Competition.
- 2025: Received the Merit Award in the Illustration Category at the iJungle Illustration Awards.
- 2025: Shortlisted for the WIA 2025 awards.
- 2025: Selected as an Official Selection for LICC.
- 2025: Shortlisted for BIBF 2025.
- 2025: Won the National First Prize at the Milan Design Week China Exhibition of Outstanding Works by Teachers and Students in Design Disciplines.
- 2025: Earned an Honorable Mention at the 3x3 International Illustration Competition.
- 2025: Received the Potential Comic Award at the Golden Monkey Awards.
- 2025: Secured the Silver Award at the JIA Illustration Award 2025.
- 2025: Won the Excellent Work Award at the 12th Hiii Illustration International Illustration Competition.