An art project launched by Cong Zhiqiang gives Gejia village, Zhejiang province, a whole new look. [Photo by Xiao Da/China Daily]

A total of 50 villages in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province were recently included in a campaign launched by the city to promote rural vitalization through art.

The citywide campaign was inspired by the success story of Gejia village, which has taken on a new look after an art design campaign initiated in April 2020 by Cong Zhiqiang, an associate art professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Residents of the village in Ninghai county were encouraged to renovate their surroundings using art, and nearly all decorations in the village, including flower pots, benches, lamps, and pavilions, were made by the residents themselves. The village has since emerged as a popular rural tourism destination.

Its success has been replicated in a number of villages including Yang'ao, Maoxing and Yuanma in Ningbo.

Artists from over 30 universities across China have gotten involved in the art design campaign and have teamed up with 97 villages in the city, official data show.

In August 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Zhejiang provincial government inked a cooperation agreement to develop Zhejiang into a demonstration province for rural revitalization.