A brush with tradition

"The content of Ningxia's kangweihua is mainly flowers, mountains, food, landscape and cute animals. Bright colors, such as green and red, are mostly used," says Tian.

"My mother's favorite patterns for her paintings were peony flower, grape, bamboo and chili. She loved coloring her paintings with her fingers.

"Even when she was 70 years old, my mother still had vivid memories about her paintings," Tian adds.

Since 1990, Tian has been working at the local cultural center of Tongxin county, where she concentrates on painting and preserving the art of kangweihua.

The first piece of work Tian created featured patterns her mother loved. It was inspired by her childhood memories and took Tian over a week to finish. It was later incorporated in various products, such as refrigerator magnets and ceramic tiles.

A series of paintings about her mother's daily life, such as cooking in the kitchen, braiding children's hair and doing housework, are now displayed at the local cultural center in Tongxin county.