The following year, a relocation project began. People from more barren parts of the autonomous region, including Guyuan and Xiji counties, began moving to Minning, which is south of the regional capital Yinchuan and close to the Yellow River.

Since then, the population has grown to about 66,000.

The pairing did not end after poverty alleviation efforts succeeded in Ningxia last year.

In October, with help from Huaqiao University's Ningxia alumni association, faculty paid a visit to Minning to learn more about the local situation and reached a preliminary agreement on future cooperation.

In April, the Minning government and Huaqiao University signed a deal to cooperate on industrial development, tourism planning, e-commerce, training and the development of intellectual property.

The art project was the first to be held under the agreement.

"We were worried about living conditions and brought many daily necessities with us. But things turned out to be much better than we had thought," said Huang Lu, a student who participated in the project.

"A village senior caught my eye. He was curious about us and was watching us drawing while sitting carefully on a stool. Then the children came and joined us once we'd gotten to know one another," Huang said.

Before the students began working on the murals, they toured the local exhibition center to learn more about the town's history.