Invited by the Ministry of Culture, 11 Xinjiang folk art painters went to Beijing on Sept 24 to hold an art show to celebrate the National Day and the 60th anniversary of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The art show is held in the National Library and will be open to the public until Oct 7.

Xinjiang folk art paintings sprang up in the early 1980s. Painters in this style are mainly farmers from different ethnic groups such as Han, Uygur, Hui and Kazak. They portray the natural beauty of Xinjiang and their daily life there. By telling local stories in their art they express their love of home.

Xinjiang provides a good soil for the folk art paintings to grow in. At present, there are more than 20 folk art painting centers around Xinjiang where painters display their works and cultivate a new generation of farmer painters.

In recent years, Xinjiang folk art paintings have drawn the attention of collectors both in China and abroad. The farmer artists were invited to display their works in Washington DC in the United States in 2009. At a Xinjiang folk art painting auction held in Beijing in 2014 the pieces were sold out with the highest price being 18,000 yuan ($2,827.2).

Xinjiang folk art painters pose in front of the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on Sept 24. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xinjiang folk art painters visit the exhibition hall of the National Library in Beijing on Sept 24. [Photo/Xinhua]

Edited by Peter Nordlinger