Captured in charcoal

Charcoal portraits by Ye Baolong, Han Cuiqiong's son.

"We know how difficult it is for a small business like Han's to survive. She will text me when she makes a good sale," says Zhao Aihua, deputy director of the organization responsible for preserving historical Haikou and waiving her rent. "Culture is not just about buildings, it is about the lifestyle. We choose to help Han because what she does represents a piece of local culture that will quickly evaporate if left to market forces."

Although barely 8 square meters in size, Han's storefront has attracted more than its fair share of attention and has taken on many functions that people hadn't anticipated. Other artists have come and asked her to display their works. It has become a gallery as well. There are scrolls of calligraphy and even one oil painting that add a modern twist.

When business was slow, Han coached her granddaughter in writing and drawing. It did not take long for other parents to ask her to teach their kids. The covered walkway on the historical street has thus turned into both a demonstration room and a classroom where children can pick up drawing and painting skills from an old master.

Han's store also functions as a club, attracting other artists and kindred spirits. But you don't have to be physically there to talk art and craft with her. She uses her iPhone to share her work and her ideas of charcoal sketching with friends who may live far beyond the island. "Oh, that's nothing," she says when asked about her dexterity with the new gadget. "I learned to draw on my cellphone many years ago."

Occasionally, Han laments that she did not learn other styles of painting, which could "fetch 10,000 yuan apiece", she says. But she is not bothered by the high efficiency of photography, not any more. "Have you noticed how fast photo portraits fade? Our charcoal paintings do not fade."