Hou Xingbo, a painter in Jiangjin District, created eight Chinese ink paintings to depict the touching love story between Liu Guojiang and Xu Chaoqing. The Ladder of Love is about an old couple, and the husband built the ladder on the cliffs for his wife. 

The love story is widely known in China. The painter takes mountains, rivers, and figures on moon-shaped fans with their story as the background, combining the moving love story with the beautiful idyllic scenery.

"Everyone longs for a beautiful love. I'm deeply moved by the love story of Liu Guojiang and Xu Chaoqing." As Hou Xingbo said, as a painter of the Cultural Center of Jiangjin District, he feels duty-bound to showcase Jiangjin District's natural and cultural charm.

The story started over 60 years ago at Zhongshan, a genteel ancient town located by the Sunxi River and encircled by the mountain in Jiangjin District. It was an amazing place with honest and friendly people and abundant resources. (Part I of  The Ladder of Love)

The first painting of The Ladder of Love series. (Photo / Jiangjin Media Convergence Center)

A local guy Liu Guojiang fell in love with Xu Chaoqing, a widow who was ten years older than him. Despite all the gossip, the lovers got married and lived happily. (Part II of The Ladder of Love)

The second painting of The Ladder of Love series. (Photo/Jiangjin Media Convergence Center)

Not long after, the happy couple could not bear the gossip and moved into the mountain to seclude themselves from worldly worries.

As they got settled in the green mountain and water, they reclaimed wasteland and weaved all by themselves, happily living a  self-sufficient life.

Because they lived in the mountain, the steep mountain road was their only choice when they needed to go down the mountain. Every time his wife went down the mountain to the marketplace, Liu Guojiang was worried about her safety. So, to let his wife go down the mountain safely, he decided to build a road for her.

Since then, he went out to build the road as long as he had the time, regardless of the weather. Every day, the husband worked hard and tried to cut a way out of the mountain, and the wife waited for him to come back.

Seeing the mountain road was dangerous, Liu Guojiang devoted his life to building a "ladder of love" by the sheer cliffs only in the hope of letting his wife go down the mountain safely. With the new road, more people started to visit the mountain.

As the once young guy turned seventy years old, 6,208 stone steps were built, which embodied his love for his wife. With his lifetime devotion to his wife, he created the miracle of the ladder of love.

The painter's portrait of The Ladder of Love series. (Photo/Jiangjin Media Convergence Center)