A Little piece of the Countryside

In a frenetic metropolitan like Beijing, it’s always nice to enjoy a piece of the countryside. And one good place to find rural art is BeiPing HuaYuan. This shop sells farmer’s paintings, which are colorfully crafted works which focus on people’s lives in the rural areas. Themes include joy for good harvest, hope for a nice future, among other things. This type of art came into focus in the Cultural Revolution, as the government wished for common folks to dabble in art.

As I entered this shop in the Liulichang antique street, the shop owner, Ms. Zhang, greeted me. She told me these paintings came from HuXian and DongFeng counties, renowned for the quality of their famer’s paintings.

I was attracted by one particular painting, called “A Good Harvest” (RMB 150). The illustration featured a farm with pile of corn cobs, and chicks pecking on it. I found it odd that the color of corn was red. Miss Zhang told me that the author used the red color to show people’s happiness about a good autumn harvest. Hence, the color and the name.

The shop has a professional translator. So you may feel free to ask them about each individual items. Prices are reasonable, generally between RMB 100 and 300.

What I appreciate

Beautiful paintings

What customers appreciate

Unique paintings, can speak English