A village in Yunnan blossoms with art

Mural Girl and Fish in Guanzhong village, Yunnan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The idea of making Guanzhong a village of murals hit Sun Haiping in 2017, when a renovation project was going on there.

Located in the Dongchuan district of Kunming, Yunnan province, Guanzhong village is about 145 kilometers from downtown Kunming.

In 2017, Sun, an assistant professor at Kunming University, came to the village to assist with poverty alleviation programs.

"I was attracted by the beautiful natural environment and the climate. As an artist, I came up with the idea of drawing creative pictures on the white walls of the houses," Sun said.

People pose for pictures with a mural in Guanzhong village, Yunnan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The next year, Sun invited his friend, a Malaysian mural artist, Eric Lai, to Guanzhong to work with him on the concept.

"Inspiration for the murals came from the people, architecture and plants here. We can sometimes finish one piece in a single day."

For instance, the work Girl and Fish portrays a young girl from the village, Zhang Min.

In other murals, Lai drew whales and tapirus, a mammal similar in shape to a pig that's found in Malaysia.

Lai came to Guanzhong in February for the third time and has produced a total of 13 murals.

"We plan to make Guanzhong a base for students of art, and make it an international mural village in the next decade to boost rural tourism and economic development," said Chen Minggui, the village's Party chief.