Village as a ceramic canvas

Huashuwa village, in Luoning county, Luoyang, Henan province, has transformed from an impoverished village deep in the mountains into a buzzing tourist destination thanks to the tireless efforts of a ceramic artist.

Guo Aihe, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, who is also a master of Chinese arts and crafts specializing in sancai, or tricolored glazed ceramic art, is the brain behind the metamorphosis.

The story stems from Guo's passion for sancai art. To him, painted ceramic art is not limited to three colors, but the whole gamut. Although Tang Dynasty (618-907) sancai came to be popular as a type of painted ceramic and thrived during the era, the art went relatively unnoticed in the subsequent dynasties. But its existence was never in question.

At Luoyang Normal University, Guo chose to make a sancai glazed painting, which means applying the painted ceramic techniques to make a painting, his graduation project in 1986. It won applause from Ye Peng, then head of the university, who encouraged him to continue with his creations and study the art form.