When mentioning Peru, what comes to mind?

For most people, it would probably be mystical Machu Picchu, adorable alpacas, or the Amazon rainforest.

Although Peru surprisingly boasts the largest population of Chinese descendents in South America, making up 5 percent of its total population, it remains a mysterious land for most Chinese.

Two ongoing exhibitions — When Animals Were Persons and The Other Land — held at the Cervantes Institute in Beijing, are a great chance for viewers to unravel the mystery of the faraway land.

Among the exhibited visual artworks, rendered with surrealism and local myths, are five paintings by Rember Yahuarcani, a visual artist hailing from the Peruvian Amazon, a region that gave birth to various ethnic tribes and nourished their brilliant cultures.