The annual Huaihua Beautiful Country Culture and Arts Festival recently took place in Hunan province, aiming to involve more villagers in art creation and vitalize local culture.

Hosted by the China Art Association, Hunan Photographers Association and the Huaihua Federation of Literary and Art Circles, this year’s arts festival featured local people performing a variety of disciplines on stage, including wind and percussion music, group dance and Chinese operas.

Unique to this year’s arts festival is a photography exhibition, showcasing 50 pictures taken by migrant workers. The photos are selected from the award winners of the 2018 Hunan Province Workers Photography Exhibition.

“These photos focus on the extraordinary achievements made by laborers from all walks of life, freeze-framing the wonderful moments of their daily work, presenting their diligence, endeavor and commitment to innovation,” says Liang Xiangfeng, secretary-general of Hunan Photographers Association.

The exhibition is a major measure taken by the association in 2019 in its bid to use the arts to alleviate poverty and promote rural vitalization.

Founder of the arts festival, artist Shu Yong, says: “To vitalize the countryside, we must first vitalize rural culture. Only when the local villagers feel proud of their home and culture, can rural vitalization truly be realized.”