Peking painter Ma Haifang

Ancient Beijing is a city where people once trod streets which have been buried for thousands of years. The ancient city has become a subject of growing fascination in China since the 1980s. Physical remnants of the past are being unearthed every day, while bulldozers clear space for glass-walled skyscrapers and towering apartment buildings. Nostalgic sentiments for the old city are blossoming. For most of his life, Ma Haifang has painted the city, the daily lives of its people, their habits and customs. He has tried to recapture scenes of old Beijing. In today's The List, we meet Ma Haifang, a champion of painting in a nostalgic mood and a voice for conservation.

Ma Haifang's striking colored ink painting features his trademark caricature figures of Beijing folk.

Ma Haifang paints scenes that are typical Beijing, through and through. He captures the leisurely way of life and the laissez faire, live-and-let attitude among ordinary people.

He portrays the labor-intensive strivings of the common folk to earn a living. This is the heart of Beijing.

For years, the 52-year-old has embraced his identity as a man of Beijing, proud both in his everyday life and in his works.

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