A massive outdoor mural project undertaken by students has been completed in record time in a remote county of northwestern China, while at same time providing a shot in the arm for the local economy and valuable working experience for all those involved.
It was in these past few days that the students from Xi’an Peihua University (西安培华学院) in Shaanxi Province journeyed to Qiao Village in Lu’an Town of the city’s Chang’an District to create the artwork.
The students integrated traditional folk elements of Shaanxi Province into the wall paintings, which also show the vitality of the countryside through doodles.
Collectively, the art works take up some 800 square metres of wall space in the village.
The overall project, comprising six landscape paintings and over 40 more other creative forms of artistic expression using paint, was completed in just 4 days, reported Nanjing Daily.
The murals’ thematic elements refer not only to folk culture but also local beliefs and customs. Among the paintings, cartoons of the “Menshen” (门神; “threshold guardians” or “door gods”), deified in northern Shaanxi as the Warring States generals, Pang Juan (庞涓) and Sun Bin (孙膑). And where have they been painted? On doors throughout the village of course!
A total of 17 students enrolled in the University’s School of Architecture and Design took part as young artists in the initiative that is intended as an artistic transformational project for the rural revitalisation of Shaanxi Province.
Shi Jinkai, one of the students from the School of Architecture and Design who participated, spoke with reporters. “Students and teachers alike helped to give guidance”, he said. “This kind of activity not only gives us hands-on experience, it also improves our all-round expertise.”
Classmate, Li Xin, said, “This project has greatly stimulated our interest in painting such wall murals. We’ve felt very happy here”.
