Painting the New Year

Its name alone， Yangliuqing (literally \"Green Wil-low\" in Chinese)， stimulates the imagination. Buthow does this western suburb of Tianjin Munici-pality really resonate with its residents and visitors?In my opinion， a place with such a beautiful name shouldoffer similarly stunning scenery to match: Perhaps cov-ered in mist and rain， a time-honored town is paintedwith willows and emerald rivers with ferries gliding alongthem. With a history of more than 1，000 years， it wasalready a North China folk art center during the Ming(1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The tinytown is the birthplace of several folk arts such as Yang-liuqing nianhua (New Year pictures， one of China's fourgreatest woodblock painting styles)， Yangliuqing kites，and paper cutting. According to historical records， thetown has been famous for centuries， not only for its folkart， but also for hosting many cultural landmarks suchas theaters， memorial archways， and pavilions. Survivingevidence of the town's past prosperity includes ancientschools， temples， and the magnificent Shi Family Court-yard.