Wu Liren, a Hangzhou native who has done numerous paintings on the Grand Canal, works on a new artwork in his studio. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Wu Liren, hailed as the first person to tell stories of Hangzhou via paintings, has been dedicated to drawing the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal over the past three decades.

Wu was born and bred in Hangzhou. He started painting in 1950s when he was only a child.

In the mid-1980s, Hangzhou city was swept by a storm of dismantling old buildings. Out of the deep affection for both the art and his hometown, Wu started capturing ordinary moments of people's lives at streets and lanes with brush pens in order to retain the old days in his memory.

The Grand Canal was an important part of this. "In the past, people washed clothes, dishes and vegetables in the flowing and clean water," Wu recalled.

He has created thousands of paintings on the canal so far and each artwork arouses a specific episode of his memory. "We used to call people living on boats 'Jiangbeilao' in the past," Wu pointed to a painting named Woju, which refers to homes the size of a snail's shell, "they moved to different places with boats and lived in simply-equipped shacks on board."

Wu has been a representative for the canal culture. His artworks, vivid presentations of the charm of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, have been increasingly known to the international society.

"I will devote my entire life to painting," Wu said, "I hope the young generations can remember the old Hangzhou through my artworks."