Graffiti, a practice that dates back to ancient Greece, is gaining popularity in Shenzhen, as evidenced by a steadily growing wall of art near the Honghu Park in Luohu District.

Avant-garde artists have spray-painted about 300 meters of graffiti on the wall on Honghu Road West facing the Buji River, and it is expanding with more artists joining the group.

A doorkeeper at the Honghu Park surnamed Yan said the graffiti started to appear on the wall at least two years ago. "Many young people come here to paint every weekend. Some are from outside Shenzhen and even from abroad," he said.

Most of the artworks are in bright colors, but difficult to understand. One graphic appears to be a cluster of letters, but when viewed closely, resembles birds' heads. Another looks like a blend of clouds, horses and fire. Even the depictions of traditional content, such as the monkey king, have an avant-garde touch because of the use of strong colors.

Almost all the works bear a date and the artist's signature. There are also comments on the different works, but most are too scratchy to read.

While most of the artworks show focus and talent, some of them are graffiti in the truest sense, illegible and incomprehensible.

The graffiti artists, mostly amateurs, are quite wary of reporters, fearing that the government would accuse them of defacing public property.

"It's hard to find a place for graffiti. So we don't want to lose the place," said an artist from Macao who declined to reveal his name.

The artist started practicing graffiti one year ago and was once caught by police in Macao. He came to Shenzhen two months ago with his company, and soon fell in love with the graffiti wall, which he got to know about from his friends.

The artist started painting at about 11 AM Sunday. He said it would take him four hours to complete the piece. Lunch was out of the question.

A resident surnamed Mei said he saw another wall along the Buji River near Gongyuan Road in Luohu District. "I saw the graffiti wall when I took a train from Guangzhou to Shenzhen. It's on the right. It's really beautiful," he said.

Graffiti is presently one of the four elements of hip-hop culture, with the other three being breakdance, DJing and rapping. Once considered the work of vandals, graffiti has evolved into an elaborate and colorful avenue of self-expression. It is now appreciated by many people as a form of urban art, although many governments hate it for environmental and sanitary reasons.
 
(Shenzhen Daily October 25, 2005)