Village as a ceramic canvas

Now, the village attracts more than 100,000 visits annually, and even nearby villages can benefit from this tourist spot since people can supplement their income by selling agricultural products.

During the process, Guo has also worked to improve rural children's aesthetic education in Luoning by donating fine art tools to schools, subsidizing fees of art majors and organizing activities to collect money for rural fine arts education.

When he was sketching at the village in 2015, he was surrounded by curious children who asked questions about his painting board, brushes and pigment, which were strange to them.

"Looking into their eyes, I felt rural children yearned to appreciate and comprehend beauty, but lacked effective means to do so," says Guo.

"I know our country has put in a lot of hard work and efforts to alleviate extreme poverty, but I pondered how I could help the villagers transcend emotional poverty. Therefore, we initiated our efforts with children, focusing on their artistic education to guide them to discover, understand and pursue beauty, thereby nurturing a beautiful mind and establishing a solid foundation for life," he adds.

"I really love drawing because it makes me relaxed. Things that don't occur in life can be captured by brushstrokes on paper," says Shang Jiale, a middle school student in Luoning.

A highlight of Guo's effort is an annual art activity which invites 100 artists a year to make creations at the village, donate their works at an auction, and offer the money for rural aesthetic education. All steps of the activity are completed in one day, showing the urgency of improving rural art education.

As of now, 650 artists have created 813 works in the activities, donating over 2 million yuan ($275,528) through sales.

"Before Guo's arrival, we had a shortage of fine arts teachers. Even when one was appointed to work in our school, they left in a short time. We had no incentives for them to stay. (Though we have art lessons on the curriculum,) we didn't even have the concept of aesthetic education," says Li Wanjun, headmaster of a junior high school at Luoning.

"It was Guo who made us realize its importance. As a matter of fact, rural vitalization and all other aspects of life require an aesthetic perspective to discover and create," Li adds.