Ne Zha's brush with success spread

Wang Jianjie said that he went to see Ne Zha 2 on the first day of the Chinese New Year.

"The plot was outstanding, and the visual effects were stunning. I am already looking forward to Ne Zha 3," he said.

He said that he has loved drawing since he was young. To improve his painting skills, he has often traveled to other cities in the country over the years to learn from excellent graffiti artists and has made a group of like-minded friends. He has established the Dingjie Wall Mural Art Studio in Gaoping.

Last August, the domestically produced game Black Myth: Wukong brought attention to Shanxi's ancient architecture, with Gaoping's Tiefo Temple as one of the game's scenes attracting a large number of tourists.

Wang Jianjie and his team seized the opportunity to paint Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the game, and other related images around the Iron Buddha Temple, welcoming visitors with a series of Wukong-themed wall murals.

Recently, Ne Zha-themed murals have also appeared in the cities of Taiyuan and Datong in Shanxi. Leveraging this popular character, local authorities are promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism.

Near Zhijiabu Forest Park in Datong, a mural of Ne Zha characters, about 4.5 meters high and 10 meters wide, quickly became a new hot spot for visitors.

Zhang Yekong, the leader of the creative team, said, "To capture the dynamic flames on the mural, we combined spray painting with hand-painting techniques to bring the characters to life.

"Our goal with the Ne Zha murals is to inspire young people to stay true to themselves and keep striving for their dreams," Zhang added.

Looking ahead, Wang Jianjie is optimistic about the future of graffiti art.

"Our team has always loved animation. Through our work, we hope to introduce more people to the richness of Chinese culture," he said.

Contact the writers at zhuxingxin@chinadaily.com.cn