The Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently organized a survey of the "2021-23 Hometowns of Chinese Folk Culture and Art" and 183 counties – as well as cities districts and towns and sub-districts – where placed on an official list.

Of those, Gouxi township – administered by Yudong village in Quzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province – made the grade, according to local media reports on Nov 15.

That recognition was said to be due to the village's painters, whose works include bold, colorful murals – celebrating Yudong's homes and depicting its day-to-today rural life. They are also said to reflect the improvements being felt by the villagers in the next stages of China's economic, social and cultural development.

Yudong's rural paintings go back the 1970s. That's when the residents picked up their paintbrushes and took up lessons from art teachers, who imbued them with a sense of visual creativity.

Of Yudong's 800 residents, more than 320 are now said to be involved with painting. The village also boasts a farmers' painting association, workshops and creative training courses.

Near 300 works by the villagers have won accolades in various exhibitions and events nationwide, with the local art museum and other cultural centers receiving more than 50,000 visits a month.