Restaurateur sees profit in graffiti

Tourists pose for photos with an elephant and a giraffe that were painted on the walls of houses in Guazhou village, Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Xu Zhenyu and Guo Jun/China Daily]

"The village's graffiti makes me want to make my house more beautiful. I never imagined that one day I would become a restaurant owner. It may change my life."

The graffiti Ji mentioned will be finished around October. Professional artists and art students from Yangzhou University have been invited to paint on the walls. The painters discussed the graffiti's themes with the villagers before they started.

The graffiti can be roughly divided into three categories－Chinese painting, oil painting and European-style 3D painting.

Unlike some of his friends who adore cartoon characters, Ji likes very much the Chinese painting on his wall, which reminds him of the soft rain and humid air of spring.

"It shows peach tree blossoms in red in front of traditional riverside Chinese houses. Only three colors are used－red, black and white. It's simple, but beautiful."

The themes of the graffiti also need to relate to the environment.