Residents of Maoyang village in Ninghai county, East China's Zhejiang province are busy building the "Love Corridor", part of a project to turn the village into an artistic wedding-themed village. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Maoyang village in Ninghai county, East China's Zhejiang province has embarked a quest to boost rural revitalization by becoming an artistic wedding-themed village.

Ninghai county has been seeking to bring about rural revitalization via art since 2019, since which a number of college art teachers, students and residents have joined in efforts to renovate the county's villages. A project entitled "Village Revitalization through Art"  is being carried out in Maoyang village, aiming to promote the development of the village by forming a complete wedding industry chain including catering, accommodation, tourism and shopping. 

Liu Dongfeng, an art professor from Shandong Normal University who came to Maoyang with students to help transform the village, plans to build 15 attractions in the village before Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentines' Day, which will fall on August 14 this year. "It is an urgent task," Liu said.

Locals will also participate in the project, some of whom come from neighboring villages.

The 99-meter-long "Love Corridor" decorated with bamboo, lanterns, red cloth and oil-paper umbrellas is the highlight of the project. The 65-year-old Liu Baofu, a former carpenter, is now busy making bamboo frames.

"We need to made 72 frames. I have finished ten. It's not too difficult, but we have a very tight schedule, so I've decided to work overtime," Liu said.

Ge Sanjun from Ninghai's Gejia village, which has also benefited from the project, came to share his experience in village renovation.

Wedding companies have joined in the efforts as well. Four local wedding companies formed a partnership at a matchmaking meeting on August 1 to build a Maoyang wedding industry base with colleges, experts and villagers.