Juye of Shandong: A New Life Outlined in the Elaborate Style Paintings of Peony

The international cooperation project, "Dating of Rose" Image Works Collection has recently held the launch ceremony in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. At the site, Shandong Province of China presented an elaborate style painting of peony created by the farmer-artists of Juye County to Bulgarian Journalists' Union, according to the News Office of the People's Government of Juye County,.

Juye County of Heze, Shandong has always been reputed as a "hometown of farmer paintings in China" and a "hometown of Chinese elaborate style paintings". The local people have worked hard on local painting culture. The Juye County elaborate style paintings of "Heze's peony" have shot to fame.

The Juye County elaborate style paintings of peony have blended modern techniques into traditional techniques, with elegant lines and gorgeous colors. In recent years, Juye County elaborate style paintings of peony have embarked on a development path based on branding and industrialization, which has further improved the life of local people. According to local painting experts, ordinary farmers can master the basic techniques and finish a painting independently after learning the techniques for a certain period. Juye County has established a development fund for the painting and calligraphy industry and used grassroots academies of painting and calligraphy and training agencies to cultivate reserve talents, while striving to promote the development of the supporting conditions for the whole industrial chain such as industrial innovation and cultural creativity and development. "At Juye County, it can be said that 'there is a painting studio in every village'. An ordinary painter can earn an annual income of 50,000 – 60,000 yuan, while a senior painter can earn an annual income of hundreds of thousands of yuan," said Gao Sujuan, the deputy head of the Painting and Calligraphy Industry Development Leading Group of Juye County.

Currently, the county's painting and calligraphy industry has more than 20,000 practitioners, with over 1.2 million pieces of works created annually, and with the works exported to 40 countries and regions, creating an output value of over one billion yuan.

Source: News Office of the People's Government of Juye County