{"id":362733,"date":"2025-08-02T15:50:50","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/?p=362733"},"modified":"2025-08-02T15:50:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:50:53","slug":"have-you-ever-heard-of-chinas-no-1-oil-painting-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/have-you-ever-heard-of-chinas-no-1-oil-painting-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Haben Sie schon einmal von \u201cChinas \u00d6lgem\u00e4lde-Dorf Nr. 1\u201d geh\u00f6rt?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"744\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG.webp\" alt=\"\u00d6lgem\u00e4lde von\" class=\"wp-image-362738\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG.webp 744w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG-595x400.webp 595w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG-510x343.webp 510w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/u1412618419971579790fm253fmtautoapp138fJPEG-500x336.webp 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"644\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-644x800.jpeg\" alt=\"\u00d6lgem\u00e4lde von\" class=\"wp-image-362736\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-644x800.jpeg 644w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-322x400.jpeg 322w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-768x954.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-1236x1536.jpeg 1236w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-510x634.jpeg 510w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709-402x500.jpeg 402w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e4dde71190ef76c65869a00f33358df4af516709.jpeg 1242w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1055\" height=\"652\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef.webp\" alt=\"\u00d6lgem\u00e4lde von\" class=\"wp-image-362734\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef.webp 1055w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef-647x400.webp 647w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef-768x475.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef-510x315.webp 510w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8644ebf81a4c510fbd60fbe7f2ed0e3dd62aa5ef-500x309.webp 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1055px) 100vw, 1055px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Longgang District, Shenzhen, there\u2019s a small village called <strong>Dafen<\/strong> that transformed over the past two decades from a quiet rural place into the largest hub in China for oil painting production and trade. On just <strong>0.4 square kilometers of land<\/strong>, over <strong>1,200 galleries and shops<\/strong> cluster together, and around <strong>8,000 people<\/strong> work in the oil painting industry here. The brand slogan \u201cWorld\u2019s oil paintings, made in Dafen\u201d is now widely recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Dafen, <em>painting<\/em> has countless faces:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some artists carefully replicate Western classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some paint their own dreams onto canvas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Different understandings of art come together here, sketching out the years of Dafen in strokes of color.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How it all began<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>1989<\/strong>, art dealer Huang Jiang came to Dafen, which at that time was just farmland with scattered houses and fewer than 300 residents. The low rents and quiet surroundings were ideal for painting, so he started bringing \u201ccommercial paintings\u201d (mainly replicas of famous works) to the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The business model quickly evolved into an efficient <strong>assembly-line production<\/strong>: each worker focused on one step, passing the canvas on to the next. Orders boomed, and people from across China flocked to Dafen hoping to earn a living with a paintbrush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the mid-1990s, over <strong>500 painters<\/strong> were working in Dafen, and all kinds of supporting industries\u2014canvas makers, paint suppliers, frame shops\u2014sprang up. At its peak, <strong>70% of the world\u2019s oil paintings came from China, and 80% of those came from Dafen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This changed not only Dafen\u2019s history but also local villagers\u2019 lives. As demand grew, the local government improved roads and built exhibition spaces, turning the once-rural Dafen into a vibrant \u201cEuropean oil painting village\u201d inside Shenzhen. Villagers earned rental income and dividends from collective economic shares, improving their livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Changing lives through art<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of Dafen\u2019s early painters were <strong>farmers<\/strong> or workers who had never received formal training. Some, like <strong>Zhao Xiaoyong<\/strong>, left their villages in the 1990s looking for work. After factory jobs and hard years on construction sites, Zhao heard he could make money painting in Dafen. Like many others, he started painting day and night, driven first by survival, later by passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others, like <strong>Jiang Qingbei<\/strong>, once worked as miners before turning to painting. Jiang even set up classes for hearing-impaired students, teaching them patiently so they too could make a living through art. Over the years, he has helped dozens of disabled young people become self-reliant artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604.webp\" alt=\"\u00d6lgem\u00e4lde von\" class=\"wp-image-362735\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604.webp 1080w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604-720x400.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604-768x427.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604-510x283.webp 510w, https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/29381f30e924b8992e5594aefcb236850b7bf604-500x278.webp 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From copyist to artist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The documentary <strong>\u201cChina\u2019s Van Goghs\u201d<\/strong> tells Zhao Xiaoyong\u2019s story as he traveled to the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands, finally seeing the real <em>Sunflowers<\/em> he\u2019d copied countless times. Standing before it, he realized how different it was from his replicas. This trip planted a seed: could he become more than a copyist? Could he be a true artist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Returning home, Zhao started creating original works, painting scenes from his village and his own life, slowly transforming from a \u201cpainter-worker\u201d to an \u201cartist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Toward originality and creativity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2008, after the global financial crisis, overseas demand for cheap replicas dropped sharply. With government support, Dafen began encouraging painters to move beyond copying and focus on <strong>original works<\/strong>. Today, about <strong>400 professional artists<\/strong> work in Dafen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artists like <strong>Xiao Shuihui<\/strong>, trained in fine arts, found success by combining creativity with local culture. His paintings of <strong>pandas in traditional Chinese landscapes<\/strong> sell for tens of thousands of yuan, and he licenses designs for prints, T-shirts, and ceramics\u2014turning original art into an IP brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Embracing technology and the future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, Dafen has pushed further, blending <strong>technology and art<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It launched an AI-powered digital guide called <strong>\u201cLong Xiaofen\u201d<\/strong> that interacts with visitors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Held <strong>AIGC creative competitions<\/strong>, encouraging collaboration between AI and artists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Partnered with digital platforms to <strong>protect and trade copyrights<\/strong>, turning digital versions of artworks into cultural assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art space curator <strong>Feng Jianmei<\/strong>, who has lived in Dafen for 27 years, believes that technology won\u2019t replace artists but can help art \u201ccome alive\u201d and reach broader audiences. Her team has even launched an <strong>international artist residency<\/strong>, bringing creatives from over 20 countries to live and work in Dafen, despite setbacks like the pandemic and floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feng dreams of going beyond galleries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can build an oil painting carnival, an art festival, even an oil painting-themed amusement park. Art shouldn\u2019t stay static; it should become part of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In short<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dafen started as a <strong>tiny village making copies for the world<\/strong>, grew into a giant of the global oil painting trade, and is now reinventing itself through <strong>original art, cultural tourism, and technology<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With resilience and imagination, Dafen Village shows how tradition and innovation can paint a shared, creative future.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Longgang District, Shenzhen, there\u2019s a small village called Dafen that transformed over the past two decades from a quiet rural place into the largest hub in China for oil painting production and trade. On just 0.4 square kilometers of land, over 1,200 galleries and shops cluster together, and around 8,000 people work in the [&#8230;]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dafen-oil-painting-village"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dafennet.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}