Veteran artist Wu Changjiang has developed a growing affinity for Tibetan culture and people ever since he first set his foot on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau some 30 years ago.

"I was enthralled by the mysterious and breathtaking natural beauty of the snowy land, and the friendly and pure-hearted locals and their brilliant culture," Wu recalls.

"I was often driven by an innermost desire to capture what I saw, felt and experienced there. And I always hope to go back again and again."

Tibetan landscape and Tibetans have since been one of Wu's most favorite subjects for his lithographs, copperplates, sketches, watercolors, and most recently, ink paintings.

A Tibetan-themed art show featuring some 115 artworks that Wu has created over the past decades is now being held at Shanghai Art Museum.

Behind each painting, there is a story about how he met and interacted with locals from all walks of life in the Tibet autonomous region, Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan provinces, where Tibetan communities live harmoniously with other ethnic groups, Wu says.

During his on-site sketching and painting in the thin air and bright sunshine of the plateau, Wu is often reminded of his models - those he had captured in portraits a long time ago when they were young.

And people often offer to introduce him to their relatives and friends, hoping that Wu includes their images, too, in his wonderful art.

In the first few years, language was a barrier. But as Wu frequently returns, "we can understand each other better now and language is no more a problem."

The 58-year-old says he will continue to paint his Tibetan friends in the coming years as long as his physical condition allows it.

After its Shanghai debut, the exhibition is expected to move to Guangzhou and Beijing early next year.

zhulinyong@chinadaily.com.cn