Art helps paint a picture of prosperity in rural area

Yan Yuan, an arts professor from Ningbo University, is one of them. In 2019, he first came to the town on a field trip with his students, and was immediately captured by its surroundings. "I just couldn't suppress the urge to create art in such a charming environment as Zitong offers," says Yan.

Before long, Yan became the general artistic director of Zitong and in the next three years, he would spend the better half of each year in the town, teaching his farmer students like "Sister Corn", curating exhibitions for them and helping them make and sell art-themed products. "You can clearly see the power of art and how it is transforming the place," Yan says.

So far, a total of 19 arts colleges and academies, including China Academy of Art, have chosen the place as their base for painting and sketching field trips. Apart from the Zitong Art Gallery, two institutes of calligraphy and painting and an avant-garde art gallery named Ant Art Gallery can be found in Zitong township as well. Residents of all ages, from middle-aged like Jiang to the elderly and primary school students, have been enthusiastically engaging in calligraphy and painting. It is little wonder that Zitong township has been widely known as the "town of calligraphy and painting".