This Spring Festival, returnees in Jinxiang Town, Lufeng City, on the east coast of Guangdong, found that their hometown had changed — a year ago they themselves were reluctant to look at the village, and now they have attracted groups of tourists to stop and punch.
The red ships swayed, the Jinggangshan Division, the Red Army's Long March... Entering Jinxiang Town, a magnificent red theme scroll slowly unfolds on both sides of the village courtyard and village road; the colorful houses are beautiful and beautiful.
During the "July 1st" period in 2021 alone, the flow of local people reached 200,000 person-times, effectively driving local income to increase by nearly 10 million yuan.
The changes before and after Jinxiang Town are inseparable from Dafen Village, Buji Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen, 200 kilometers away.
Cultural tourism has brought a new atmosphere of development to Jinxiang Town. Xinhua News Agency
From "the first village of Chinese oil painting" to "international art community" and "rural revitalization art engine", Dafen Village, which covers an area of only 0.4 square kilometers, releases new energy in "ascending to the horizon".
During the Spring Festival, Feng Jianmei, who has worked and lived in Dafen Village for more than 20 years, returned to her hometown for two days and then returned to Dafen Village. The International Artist Residency Program, launched by her partners, is in full swing to support artists from around the world in creating, presenting and disseminating contemporary art in Dafen Village.
Artist Luciano Dremer from Brazil created the artwork "Perfect Energy Resonance" in residence, which combines art with electronics and manufacturing, sold for tens of thousands of yuan and soon sold 3 pieces.
"I heard about Dafen Village abroad, and the artistic innovation here attracts attention." Dremer said he came here out of curiosity and was inspired by a lot.
Not only Dremer, but also international artist residencies have attracted 37 artists from 19 countries.
Once upon a time, the village of Dafen was unknown. Leading to Dafen Village is a dirt road, and as soon as the bus passes, it is full of dust. Due to the low rent and quiet and comfortable, since 1989, some painters have come here, and Dafen Village has slowly formed an oil painting industry and gradually developed and grown.
Zhou Xiaohong, head of the New Century Painting Company, said that at the beginning, there were relatively few talents in Dafen Village, but there were many orders. "In 2004, the first cultural fair designated Dafen Village as a sub-venue. Everyone slowly knows that there is such a market as Dafen Village in China. ”
To this day, more than 8,000 painters gather here, with a total annual output value of more than 4 billion yuan, and Dafen Village is also known as "the first village of Chinese oil painting".
Shenzhen Dafen Village, which is well-known for its oil painting industry. Xinhua News Agency
Not only is it gathering global art resources and colliding with new ideas, Dafen Village is also using its own artistic endowments to help revitalize the countryside.
The red pictures in Jinxiang Town are written by wu Ruiqiu, honorary president of the Shenzhen Dafen Art Industry Association, and other painters.
In 2021, Lufeng City will put art on the agenda of rural revitalization. After receiving the invitation, Wu Ruiqiu combined the glorious history of the Hailufeng Revolutionary Base Area and the red elements of Jinxiang Town to put forward the idea of cultural tourism, and immediately convened more than 100 painters to carry out resident creations. In just a few months, the town's red murals are strung in chains, showcasing the charm of red culture.
After the success story of Jinxiang Town in Lufeng City, Wu Ruiqiu is working hard to replicate the "art engine" of Dafen Village to more regions.
"Moving art from indoor to outdoor has a different value, and art can also promote rural revitalization." Wu Ruiqiu was full of ambition. (Reporters Zhou Ke and Sun Fei)