Event highlighting gongbi painting held in Shandong's Juye

The Chinese gongbi, or fine brush, peony painting industry development forum, one of the main events of the ongoing 2025 World Peony Conference, was held in Juye, Heze city of Shandong province on April 7.

The forum brought together talented calligraphers and painters, as well as experts and professors, to talk about the characteristics and industrial development of Juye gongbi peony painting, providing insights and suggestions for industry development and rural vitalization.

"The small gongbi peony painting is not only a vivid example of promoting traditional Chinese culture and deepening exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations in the new era, but also plays an active role in raising the cultural literacy of farmers, helping them increase their incomes and wealth, and promoting rural cultural development. It has broad development prospects and enormous potential,” said Feng Yanli, deputy mayor of Heze.

In recent years, Juye gongbi peony painting, as an important part of Heze's peony culture, has successfully embarked on a new path toward rural vitalization.

In 2024, Juye gongbi peony painting was invited to participate in many international exhibitions and promotional activities, increasing its influence both domestically and internationally and making it a symbol of Heze's external cultural exchanges.

Today, Juye county has formed a large-scale calligraphy and painting industry cluster, with eight professional painting towns, 50 professional painting villages, and 65 grassroots painting academies. More than 20,000 people are engaged in various aspects of the calligraphy and painting industry, including creation, sales, framing, and more, producing over 1.5 million artworks annually.

With over 1,000 marketing outlets at home and abroad, products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions. Over 80 percent of pure hand-painted fine brushwork peony paintings sold in major galleries and art shops nationwide come from Juye. In 2024, the comprehensive output value of Juye's calligraphy and painting industry reached an impressive 4.5 billion yuan ($612.26 million). (Edited by Xie Zhenzhen)

The Chinese gongbi, or fine brush, peony painting industry development forum, one of the main events of the ongoing 2025 World Peony Conference, is held in Juye, Heze city of Shandong province on April 7. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]