A career spent restoring color to capital landmarks

Wu Shurui, 59, has spent 40 years restoring the colored paintings that decorate ancient Chinese buildings and is proud to have stuck to the traditional techniques.

The paintings on the historic wooden structures usually appear on features such as beams, ceilings and the interlocking brackets known as dougong.

"The paintings were used to not only decorate halls and palaces, but also protect wood from weathering and erosion," Wu said.