As autumn falls, village lights up in color show
Print Edition
WHILE many Chinese villages have lost their color as flowers wither and leaves fall in early winter, a village at the foot of the Great Wall has been lit up with colorful pictures.
More than 30 teachers and students from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts spent two months working in the Dashuiyu village of north Beijing’s Huairou district to complete 25 murals this month.
“It is our hope that the paintings will bring us more visitors,” said Jiang Xiaojun, deputy Party chief of the village.
The village is close to the Great Wall. For nearly two decades, tourism was it’s main industry.
“In the late 1990s countryside tourism was a fashion,” Jiang said. “But after so many years, tourists are gradually losing interest, and we must look for something new.”
A businessman surnamed Diao approached the villagers earlier this year, and said he could help promote arts and bed & breakfasts in the village.
“He told us that in western countries mural paintings were quite popular,” Jiang said, adding that the villagers had never seen mural paintings before.
In July, several villagers went to a mural painting exhibition at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. “They were fascinated by the novel art form,” he said. They soon agreed to have paintings done in their village.
The villagers had discussions with the painters about what to paint. “At first they wanted to paint a dragon, but villagers were against the plan,” Jiang said. “Dragons are a symbol of royalty. The villagers believe that it could bring misfortune to ordinary people if they dared to use it.”
Wu Xiaohai, an associate professor, painted the story of “Chicken Feather Letter.” In the story, a shepherd-boy delivers secret letters, marked with feathers to signify their importance to Chinese soldiers during the war against Japanese invaders 70 years ago.
Another villager often complained about his son spending too much time on his smart phone. On the wall of his house, Wu painted a boy holding an iPhone in one hand, and a traditional Chinese toy in the other.
“This way I show the both image of the traditional child of the past, and the modern child of today,” Wu said. For some students, the mural painting was a new experience. Zhang Hanpu abandoned his painting brush for a roller brush as the walls in the village were rough with the surface peeling off in some parts.
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