LONGHUA is famous for its charming old Hakka villages, some of which have been turned into art villages such as the Guanlan Printmaking Village and New Who Art Village for artists from around the world to open studios or do art-residency projects. In recent years, after renovation, Edixia Village, which is close to the Guanlan printmaking and New Who villages, has also attracted painters, musicians and craftspeople to open studios in the centuries-old Hakka houses.

An open day event was held Sunday, inviting visitors to explore the village and connecting them with the arts. Some visitors wore Chinese Hanfu or cheongsam, some learned to make traditional Chinese moon-shaped fans, some attentively listened to the history of print art and guzheng art, and some enjoyed music played on the xun, a globular vessel flute that has thousands of years’ history.

Built in 1736, Edixia Village is also the hometown of revolutionary printmaker Chen Yanqiao (1911-1970), a pioneer in modern Chinese printmaking and outstanding art theorist and educator. The Chen Yanqiao Exhibition Hall in the village used to be Chen’s old residence that was built during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). From a young age, he had studied painting at an overseas Chinese-backed school in the village.

(Cao Zhen)