Graffiti can be art or vandalism, take your pick

In June 2007, a graffiti art festival was held on the opening day of Huangjueping Graffiti Street, attracting nearly 350,000 visitors.

At the end of 2007, it was recognized in Chongqing as one of the Top 10 Outstanding Projects of Urban Public Buildings for its economical facelift.

These days, graffiti — an Italian word that means scribbling on a wall — is either recognized as an art form or vandalism. The modern art form of graffiti is believed to have originated in New York in the late 1960s.

World famous graffiti art venues include the Berlin Wall in Germany and the Graffiti Bridge in Australia. There are well-known graffiti walls throughout China as well, such as the 730-meter-long "Beijing Wall", which was created by 400 volunteers especially for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.