JINSHAN COUNTY: China is reaping rewards from a programme that helps farmers brush up on painting skills for a richer and more colourful village life.

A group of farmers-turned-artists in Jinshan county is bringing prominence to folk art. Home to 15 households, the Jinshan village is located 80 kilometres from downtown Shanghai.

There are some 70 such communities dotted across China as local governments are keen to set up these groups to bring in tourism dollars.

In 2006, one of the painting villages got US$1.2 million to help peasant painters set up shop.

Hu Bo Fang, vice general manager, Shanghai Fengjing Historical Town Tourist Developing Company, said: "In 2006, we invited them to live in the village for free. We did not charge them or take a commission from their sales of artwork.

"We did not make a profit from it. But after half a year, when sales got better and tourists started to visit, we started to charge them rent."

Peasant paintings have their origins in the 1950s when the communist party encouraged rural communities to paint for propaganda purposes. But things changed in the 1970s when China embarked on reforms.

Cao Xiu Wen, one of the painters at Jinshan Farmers' Painting Village, said: "With the change of time and our living standards, peasants are richer than before. I want to show the prosperity in our new country."

The 53-year-old Cao has been producing rustic art since the 1970s. Farmers who used to paint frescoes on the walls – above and below kitchen stoves – now work with gouache rice paper.

As more villagers put down their tills for brushes, appreciation for their work is growing.

China's State Ministry of Culture has named Jinshan county as the "County of Chinese Folk painting" and the National Art Museum of China has some 200 pieces of the farmers' paintings.

Plans are also underway to help other artists gain international recognition through merchandising and online sales.

With strong government backing and funding, rural paintings have become unlikely global ambassadors for China as they are often given as diplomatic gifts. These paintings are not only gaining popularity abroad, but they have also become an important part of Chinese modern folk art.


- CNA/so