Chongqing - As summer lingers after autumn starts, rural tourism draws crowds in Chongqing. In recent years, villages across the region have adopted creative art forms, such as rice paddy paintings and murals, not only enhancing the countryside's beauty but also boosting the cultural tourism economy, lifting local morale, and exploring new ways to utilize art to drive rural revitalization.

Rice paddy art in Shiwan Town, Dazu District, Chongqing. (Photo/Zhao Weiping, Visual Chongqing)

Painting With Rice

"It's stunning—these rice paddies look like works of art!" marveled visitors on July 28 at Longping Colorful Farmland in Changhong Village, Shiwan Town, Dazu District. From a 30-meter-high viewing deck, the fields reveal sweeping images in purple, yellow, and green rice: agronomist Yuan Longping playing the violin, grazing cattle, and a sailboat heading into the wind.

"This isn't even the peak viewing season—September will be even more spectacular," said Shiwan Town’s deputy mayor, Wang Disheng.

The artworks are the creation of Ni Youbo, a geological surveyor who, over the past eight years, has "painted" more than 20 large-scale rice paddy murals in Changhong Village, helping the community carve out a path of integrated agriculture, culture, and tourism.

Ni, 47, was recruited in 2018 when Wang saw a video about Japanese paddy art attracting tourists. With guidance from the Chongqing Municipal Agricultural Technology Extension Station, the town sourced over 110 pounds of five-colored rice. Ni’s expertise in precise coordinate mapping proved essential—translating intricate designs onto 300 mu (20 hectares) of fields required nearly 20,000 coordinate points.

Ni Youbo examines the presentation of the rice paddy art. (Photo/Zhao Weiping, Visual Chongqing)

After weeks of careful work and a planting method refined through local farming knowledge, the first murals debuted during the Autumn Equinox, drawing media attention and more than 60,000 visitors in the first year. Today, Shiwan Town commissions Ni to produce three themed artworks annually—honoring Yuan Longping, showcasing Dazu’s famed stone carvings, and reflecting Chongqing’s modern transformation.

Infrastructure upgrades have followed, including pavilions, a 5-kilometer scenic road, parking areas, and public restrooms. Since 2023, eight local entrepreneurs have launched farms, homestays, and educational tourism projects. The rice art has attracted over 1 million visitors and generated more than 1 million yuan (about 139,412 U.S. dollars) in annual local product sales. Ni recently invested nearly 200,000 yuan in advanced GPS equipment, declaring, “Farming can be fashionable too.”

Murals Paint Villages

In Changjiu Village, Changlong Town, Dianjiang County, wall murals bring color and visitors to the lakeside. In 2023, the village was designated a county-level rural revitalization demonstration site. With fertile land, established agriculture, and the Longqiao Lake, officials envisioned a combined agriculture, leisure fishing, and tourism hub.

After renovating 60 houses, local leaders sought to unify the village's varied building facades and add cultural charm. The solution: murals illustrating farming traditions, local industries, and community values. Through a public bidding process, they hired muralist Liao Wenping, a fine arts graduate and head of a cultural company specializing in wall paintings.

Liao's team created over 100 designs, from which six were selected. Over three days, 20 artists transformed five villagers' exterior walls into vibrant scenes—ranging from "Lucid waters and lush mountains" to pastoral family life.

On August 6, tourists admire Changjiu Village, Changlong Town, Dianjiang County, Chongqing wall murals. (Photo/Zhang Chunxiao, Visual Chongqing)

The impact was immediate: during the Spring Festival, tourists arrived in droves. Villagers began opening farm stays and guesthouses, while sales of local specialties surged. The village has since added decorative lighting around the lake, and plans are underway for another mural project celebrating filial piety culture.

Liao’s team now produces nearly 400 murals annually across Sichuan and Chongqing. "We're painting villagers' visions of a better countryside directly onto their homes," Liao said. "When everyone works together, that vision becomes reality."

Art as a Catalyst for Rural Revitalization

According to Chongqing's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, villages like Changhong and Changjiu are among a growing number of examples of cultural and artistic projects revitalizing rural spaces. Across 37 districts and counties, more than 210 rural art studios and creative bases have been established, supported by experts from universities such as Chongqing University and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

By integrating traditional rural culture with modern artistic expression, these initiatives have boosted rural tourism income by 7.4% and set the stage for future digital art and eco-art therapy projects.

(Xie Xinyi, as an intern, also contributed to this article.)