Students draw a big portrait of NBA player Kobe Bryant with snow at a basketball court in Beihua University in Jilin City on December 7, 2015. (Photo/CFP)
(ECNS) -- A huge snow portrait of Lakers star Kobe Bryant drawn by Chinese college students has been getting a lot of attention via social media overseas, Beijing-based The Mirror reports.
Eight art students, instructed by a teacher, completed the portrait on an outdoor basketball court at Beihua University in northern China's Jilin province on Sunday, with the words "Forever 24" - Bryant's jersey number - at the bottom.
Teacher Chen Jianxun told reporters that the New York Times had contacted and told him Kobe Bryant knew about the portrait. The newspaper has been communicating with Bryant's team and might invite students to watch him play in the U.S., it was added.
Chen said they had designed the portrait and drew corresponding lines on the basketball court the day before, first practising on an adjoining court.
It took the group nearly five hours to complete the work with local journalists documenting the process. Chen didn't expect it to draw so much attention from abroad, as the university is not well-known.
Bryant announced Sunday that he will retire at the end of the 2015-16 season.
