Tourists pose for photos with an elephant and a giraffe that were painted on the walls of houses in Guazhou village, Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Xu Zhenyu and Guo Jun/China Daily]

If a house is surrounded by water, the graffiti is suggested to highlight the water element and use green. If a house has poultry, then the house owners' ardor for cartoon images are more easily accepted by the painters.

Zhang Xin, head of Guazhou village, says the main aim of the graffiti project is to raise the income of some villagers who cannot find work due to their physical conditions.

"Almost all the young villagers have worked in cities. We were worried that some conservative old villagers might not let others paint on their walls, but to our surprise, our villagers keep open minds and all supported the project."

"Besides Ji's restaurant, some others plan to run hotels, provide food supplies and sell souvenirs," said Zhang. "The village committee will give them advice and some financial support."