Bench worker turned writer who blossomed into a painter

Jin Yucheng, a Shanghai writer, best known for his novel Blossoms, is showing off his creativity in another field — visual art — with a solo exhibition at the Bund One Art Museum.

The exhibition is comprised of some 200 paintings and sketches, most of which have been created in the past 10 years.

The 71-year-old author was editor of the Shanghai Literature magazine for decades before publishing Blossoms in 2013. The novel is centered on the life of three young men from different backgrounds and neighborhoods in Shanghai in the second half of the 20th century.

A best-seller in China, and recipient of multiple national literary awards, the novel has been adapted for theater. And a television adaptation by renowned director Wong Kar-wai is also being made.

Jin did not receive any artistic training.

Back in the 1970s, the Shanghai native was sent to Heilongjiang province to work on farms, and it was during this period that he chanced upon a dog-eared book copy of Architectural Pen Drawing Tutorial.