The Longwan district of Wenzhou – the city located in East China's Zhejiang province – not only has a fast-growing economy, but also is rich in vibrant culture.
Craig – also known as Zhang Lei, who is US national working as a social media anchor at the Wenzhou Overseas Media Center – is known a big fan of the district after having recently checked out the Longwan Calligraphy and Painting Academy.
Craig has lived in Wenzhou for seven years and he is avid about traditional Chinese culture, in particular Wenzhou's own version. As a foreign social media anchor, working with film crews at the Wenzhou Overseas Media Center, he has shot a series of bilingual videos.
Among other things, he tasted sessions of Pingyang county's famed Huangtang tea and visited Jiangxin Islet in downtown Wenzhou.
The Longwan Calligraphy and Painting Academy which Craig visited is being sponsored by the Longwan District Federation of Literary and Art.
It provides a refuge for literary exponents and artists – and the public who are keen on painting and calligraphy – in order to improve their creative skills and produce artworks.
The Longwan District Federation of Literary and Art is engaged in literary and artistic research. It is also involved in a number of activities, including painting and calligraphy workshops.
What's particularly interesting was that Craig began his own journey into calligraphy and painting after playing the ancient board game of Go with Lin Xingming, deputy secretary general of the Longwan Artists Association.
Subsequently, he was taught by Xiang Feiyun – a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association – in the use of the writing brush, in the technique of writing the Chinese character "书" on white paper in official scripts, seal scripts, lower case scripts and running scripts.
After studying calligraphy, under the guidance of Lin, he continued on to experience the charms of Chinese painting.
During his time at the academy, Craig studied Lin's painting Evergreen and listened to him talk about how he created the work and its meaning.
Check out the video here ↓
