A portrait of doctor Zhang Wenhong in Nixing de Tianshi. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Ji Ping, one of the painters, said when he started thinking about illustrations for the book, the first figure who came to him was Zhang Wenhong, an infectious disease specialist from Shanghai’s Huashan Hospital who has won favor among the Chinese public for popularizing knowledge about COVID-19 in a humorous and intelligible way.

Zhang is the major figure, but this is not a portrait of an individual. It represents in the style of Chinese paintings countless brave warriors in white fighting at the frontier regardless of their own safety, Ji says.

Qian Zhen, the designer of the book, said that warm pink was chosen as the theme color for the book because most of the stories were about the former epicenter Wuhan.

Pink conveyed people’s blessings to Wuhan, which lifted the lockdown when the air turned warm and flowers bloomed, Qian said.