Depicting the beauty of the countryside, the diligence of farmers, and the passion of farming (A literary ode to a beautiful rural village)

（Original title: New sights in the farmers’ paintings of Tianbei Village in Wan’an County, Jiangxi; depicting the beauty of the countryside, the diligence of farmers, and the热、热火朝天 of farming (Arts enliven the rural countryside)）

In the early morning of Tianbei Village, Tianbei Village in Gaopo Town, Wan’an County, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, the landscape is calm and beautiful. Soft sunlight spreads over the Danqing Lake and coats the farmhouses along the shore in a layer of golden color. At a glance, the colorful farmers’ paintings on the walls add a different kind of liveliness to the village.

By the lakeside, a group of students are doing sketching. “I’m drawing the farmers’ painting精品展示馆 in the village.” Xu Yiman, a student at the Gaopo Central Primary School, points to the building across the lake.

Qiu Huiling, an art teacher at the Gaopo Central Primary School, introduces that Tianbei Village is not only a famous farmers’ painting village, but also a fixed practical base for the school. Each week, students come to the village to take part in research-and-study activities, and the farmers’ painting artists also regularly give classes on campus. With art that carries a “smell of soil,” it takes root and sprouts in the hearts of the children.

In Wan’an County, farmers’ paintings serve as a link to depict the beauty of the countryside, the diligence of farmers, and the热热火朝天 of farming.

Once, Tianbei Village faced development difficulties due to its remote location and a lack of distinctive industries. For their livelihoods, many villagers learned the craft of painting. During slack farming seasons, they traveled from door to door to lacquer solid-wood furniture and to paint the walls of their houses. This lacquer-painting craft, steeped in the scent of everyday life, planted the seeds of art.

“Farmers’ paintings generally revolve around creating works based on local life, farming culture, folk customs, and natural scenery.” Kang Nianying, the director of the cultural center of Wan’an County, introduces that the characteristics of farmers’ paintings are bright, strong colors and full, balanced compositions, and most of them carry auspicious and celebratory meanings.

In 2013, in the process of building a beautiful countryside, Wan’an County, adapting to local conditions, established a development path centered on Wan’an farmers’ paintings: “government guidance, market operation, and integration of culture and tourism.” Tianbei Village was turned into a base for the inheritance and display of farmers’ paintings, making the colors of rural arts and culture even more brilliant and vivid.

To attract and nurture skilled artists, the county introduced special support policies, built more than 10 creation houses, and invited farmers’ painting artists from across the country to put down roots and develop. “Paintings ‘grown’ out of the village change along with the development of the countryside.” The farmers’ painting artist Xiao Xiaoyin, along with apprentice Wang Zhongneng and with fellow artist Kuang Xiaobing, was the first to plunge into the village. In the past, lacquer-and-paint artisans began to use farmers’ paintings to record the new look of rural life.

Over the years, 9 farmers’ painting artists in total have taken root in Tianbei Village, farming by day and painting by night. They captured things close at hand—such as the boatmen’s songs on the Gan River, transplanting seedlings in the fields, and weddings—and condensed them into brushwork to be painted on paper. One after another, the works feel grounded, full of warmth, and reveal depth. They have become a series of windows into understanding village life.

Rural arts that sprout from the field ridges are moving toward a broader world. For multiple consecutive years, Wan’an County has hosted national-level farmers’ painting exhibitions, promoting Wan’an farmers’ paintings to be displayed overseas, and presenting the world with a unique “cultural business card.”

Tianbei Village has developed into a national 4A-level tourist attraction that integrates creation, exhibitions, research-and-study, health and wellness, and tourism, and it has also become a sketching base for many schools. The texture of rural life and the depth of rural culture have thus permeated the hearts of more young people.

In 2025, the village received more than 20,000 visitors for research-and-study teams. Besides students, many tourists also come looking for paintings. The everyday living atmosphere of farmers’ paintings makes many visitors feel especially at home. Farmers’ paintings have also boosted cultural and creative products, guesthouses, and farm stays, enabling villagers to increase their income right at their doorstep. Guo Hongmei opened a farm stay and took on research-and-study receptions. Her life has been as prosperous as a painting—“farmers’ paintings have also lit up the days.”

Arts have changed the look of the countryside and enriched the spiritual world of the villagers. Today’s Tianbei Village has become the norm: during slack agricultural seasons, artists exchange techniques with one another, and villagers learn how to paint. Through the influence of brush and ink, children experience China’s excellent traditional culture and love their hometown more deeply. Tourists and villagers sit together to draw and paint and to chat about matters of home, making rural life even more lively, colorful, and full of flavor.