Across China: Artists paint murals for Great Wall tourist village

While many Chinese villages have lost their color as flowers withered and leaves fell 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 mural paintings in November.

"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 the main industry for the village.

"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 told Xinhua. "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.

"I painted sheep on the wall," Wu said. "In Mandarin, sheep reads as Yang, and the surname of the house owner is Yang."

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 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.

He Pengqi worked at night using a projector. "The temperature was below zero and I shivered while working," he said.

The paintings drew tourists to the village. In the week-long National Day holiday, Dashuiyu village received 3,200 tourists every day, 10 percent more than a year earlier.

"In the past visitors only came at weekends," said Li Yurong, chairperson of the folk culture and tourism association of Huairou district. "Now they come from Monday to Thursday as well, taking pictures of the paintings."

Li is also glad to see improvements in the village environment, with the 172 households who run bed & breakfasts all improving their services.

"Our village looks prettier now," said villager Jiang Xuefu. Jiang likes the portrait of the mythological figure Nezha on his wall. "Look at his eyes," he said. "He is unyielding, just like people in our village."

The government of Huairou district funded the project with 250,000 yuan (36,280 U.S. dollars) though not everyone was lucky enough to have paintings on their walls.

"I have promised a villager to paint his wedding photo on the wall, and haven't fulfilled my promise yet," Wu Xiaohai said.

Many villagers asked if could they have paintings as well, including Jiang Xiaojun. "My house is in the center of the village, not along the main street," he said.

Tang Hui, director of the mural painting department with the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, has a bolder plan. "We will help decorate the bed & breakfasts, and build a cafe, landscape tower, library and gallery, to benefit villagers and attract artists and businessmen," he said.

"We will make it a rural 798 art zone," he added, referring to Beijing's popular art district. "We will make the village a mysterious, artistic and fascinating place." Endi