Likes
In the summer of 2025, the once-dull walls of Shanwei’s villages in Guangdong province burst into color: murals of rural traditions and red culture now tell stories of the land. Behind these colorful artworks is the author, Xiao Dehui, a 2022 undergraduate from the College of Creative Design at South China Normal University (SCNU). His journey, woven with perseverance and passion, vividly embodies SCNU’s spirit: "Cultivating virtue, integrating knowledge with practice, and serving society."
A Journey of Resilience: From Adversity to Artistic Pursuit
Xiao's path to SCNU is marked by unwavering resolve. At 18, a failed startup plunged him into heavy debt and self-doubt, forcing him to drop out of school to work. Yet, his love for painting—like an unquenchable spark—never dimmed. After years of hard work to pay off debts, he decided to retake the college entrance exam, only to suffer a severe accident—steel bars pierced his hands, leaving him unable to hold a brush.
"I thought my painting career was over," Xiao recalled. But during his long recovery, a glimmer of hope emerged in 2021: his hands gradually regained strength. Determined to catch up on years of lost study, he taught art at training institutions to polish his skills while cramming for exams, studying from dawn till midnight. In 2022, at 28, he finally fulfilled his dream of enrolling at SCNU as a fashion design major.
At SCNU, Xiao thrived. He absorbed professional knowledge, developed a unique "sweet-cool" design style blending elegance and edge, and created his acclaimed work Eternal Moment—a crochet art piece inspired by epiphyllum, symbolizing fleeting yet brilliant life. "SCNU’s nurturing ecosystem became the soil for my growth. Mentors such as Professor Li Qise (Dean of the College of Creative Design) and Lu Rui guided me to explore integrating traditional Chinese painting of mural art," he said.
"Painting Rural Stories": A Team Uniting Art and Public Service
Inspired by SCNU’s emphasis on social engagement, Xiao founded the "Painting Rural Vistas" volunteer team in 2022. The team—20 students from diverse majors and 3 mentors from the college—set out to use murals to showcase Shanwei’s culture and fuel rural revitalization.
Over three years, the team has painted over 500 square meters of murals across Shanwei’s Wenting Community, Fengshan Street, and Hongcao Town, completing 27 murals and 20 designs. These artworks range from historical tales in Wenting Community to red revolutionary culture in Fengshan Street, and even SCNU’s 90th anniversary-themed bollard paintings on campus.
"The murals are more than art—they’re storytellers," Xiao explained. To capture local essence, the team worked closely with villagers, researching historical allusions like "Tofu Street" and restoring ancient building structures with digital painting tools for preservation. They also designed photo spots in murals, encouraging visitors to share on social media, and taught mural techniques to villagers and children, turning art into a community bond.
Against the Odds: Mosquitoes, Midnight Oil, and Unwavering Purpose
The journey wasn’t easy. Balancing studies and volunteer work, Xiao often painted late into the night after classes, driving back to campus at dawn. Extreme weather also tested their mettle: scorching sun blurred their vision by day; mosquitoes and dim light plagued night shifts. "We used flashlights as lamps and applied protective paint repeatedly to withstand rain," said a team member.
Villagers once frowned on their unpaid labor, offering fruit and persuade them to rest—‘Why toil for free?’ they wondered. "But when I saw elders who beamed as they pointed to the murals, telling tourists, ‘This is our tofu street back in the day!’, I knew it mattered," Xiao smiled. His dedication earned him the nickname "Children’s King"—kids flocked to watch him paint, and parents even left children in his care, turning mural sites into informal "after-school center."
Honors Earned, Dreams Extended: Recognition and Future Visions
Xiao’s work has garnered widespread acclaim: his volunteer project was named a model program in Guangdong’s "Yimiao Plan," and he himself won honors like the Platinum Award for Young Asian New Talent.
Looking ahead, Xiao plans to train more youth in mural art, expanding their impact. "As SCNU teaches us, we should ‘shine our light, no matter how small,’" he said. "I want to leave lasting beauty in Shanwei and beyond."
From a struggling dropout to a mural ambassador, Xiao’s story is more than one man’s triumph—it’s a testament to SCNU’s mission of nurturing "doers" who bridge academia and society. As the murals in Shanwei fade under the sun, the spirit they carry—youth, creativity, and commitment to rural China—will only grow brighter.
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Chen Yixin, Song Yuling, Sun Yiyin
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
What to read next:
