From farmer to China's Pablo Picasso: What remains unchanged amid drastic changes?

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In the remote Yongchanghe village in central China’s Hubei Province lives a man many have dubbed China’s Pablo Picasso - painter Xiong Qinghua.

He was supposed to be a farmer but he rarely did any farm work for the last twenty years. He's never received any professional training and he dropped out of middle school when he was 16 years old. He was regarded as a loafer by villagers for a long time, but he always believed he would be a great painter and never succumbed to any pressure from the society.

Peasant painter Xiong Qinghua is dubbed China’s Pablo Picasso. /CGTN Photo

He lives in a village where he was deeply misunderstood. None of his neighbors could fathom why for over twenty years, he drew pictures without earning any money for his family.

Many people said that Xiong Qinghua could never be a real painter and he and his family were mocked by others.

Xiong Qinghua is painting in his western style studio. /CGTN Photo

“He left the village to work outside but after several days he came back. His wife was the breadwinner. No one expected him to become a renowned painter,” said a villager.

Xiong has always been rebellious. “I always felt apart from the whole village. I’m like a round peg in a square hole. I want to be different from other people and I don’t do things because of other people’s expectations. This is my life. Why should I listen to others?” he said.

Xiong Qinghua’s homemade western style studio. /CGTN Photo

Probably the only person who supported Xiong through the years is his wife Fu Aijiao. Even during the most challenging times when he was regarded as a loafer and slacker by other villagers.

Xiong decorated their room by painting her wife in a wedding dress. /CGTN Photo

“Many villagers at his age went out for a job but he chose to stay at home and paint. No matter what villagers said about him, I never blamed him. I aired my grievances by hiding myself somewhere and crying,” said Fu.

Many things changed after his paintings went viral online suddenly in 2010. For example, he's becoming more popular and earned more money. But what remains unchanged is that he only portrays the reality of the countryside and he never paints to please anyone else.

“Gradually, I feel the village is not the one in my impression anymore. Drastic changes have taken place in rural areas. Sometimes I feel bewildered and don’t know what to do. And I feel I’ve lost a lot of things. I want to get my memory back, but I can't,” he said.

Many describe Xiong as a surrealist.

Art critics say he “unfolds the magical and profound reality of the countryside." /CGTN Photo

Bent bodies and twisted images created by his brushes express his confusion, disappointment, even sadness and despair along with China's fast urbanization.

A lot of village customs and rural life are on the brink of extinction, together with his childhood games he played with his peers.

Xiong Qinghua’s artwork. /CGTN Photo

Even the river he was quite familiar with has now become a rice field.

He takes every chance to capture those things in his memory before they are gone forever, creating nostalgia not only for himself, but for the country on its path towards modernization.