The wall on the back street behind the No.1 teaching building at Xiangtan Institute of Technology has recently become "trendy". The colorful wall paintings have transformed this originally "plain and ordinary" cement wall, from an overlooked "ugly duckling" to a "white swan" praised by passersby, exuding a fashionable style and youthful vibe where technology and culture intermingle and complement each other. During their spare time, students are constantly coming here to "check in".

Explosive tweets trigger inspiration for campus wall painting

At the "project-based" education and teaching reform conference, Xiangtan Institute of Technology proposed to comprehensively promote project-based education and teaching reform, and vigorously cultivate CFAP innovative talents. Facing the new situation, we must implement new concepts. As a humanities and arts college known for its expertise in literature and history, what kind of projects can be used to explore the "project-based" education of students through practical experience?

Last month, the official account of the People's Daily published a story about the "post-95" girl Lin Xiaoyan leading the mural creation team to empower the rural revitalization. As soon as the article was launched, the number of readers quickly reached 100000+. After careful reading, Long Chaonan, Vice Dean and Head of Student Affairs of the School of Humanities and Arts, was excited and her "wall painting dream" was ignited again.

“We have the foundation, experience, and skills to create a 'wall painting street' for the school through wall painting, thus opening up the exploration of 'project-based' education for students.” In November of last year, teachers and students from the School of Humanities and Arts visited Hetang Village in Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, to carry out wall painting work, covering an area of more than 150 square meters. The final result was not only loved by the villagers, but also received a special 'thank-you letter' from the village committee, which was reported by many media outlets. A wall painting execution team named "Painting Practice Team" of the School of Humanities and Arts was quickly formed, with Chen Jiayan, a student from Animation Class 2201, as the team leader, responsible for the daily management and project progress of the wall painting project team.

Be imaginative and achieve a colorful blueprint

Choosing where to paint is a question worth seriously considering for a brand new university.

Since its unveiling in 2020, the software and hardware development of Xiangtan Institute of Technology has been constantly evolving and upgrading. It's really not easy to choose a place suitable for conducting wall painting experiments. The old cement wall located behind the No.1 teaching building of Xiangtan Institute of Technology (formerly known as the No.1 teaching building of Hunan  Geely Automobile College) has been in a "dormant state" for a long time. This wall separates the teaching building from the undeveloped low hill and serves as a barrier to ensure the safety of pedestrians passing by. After a communication with the head of the student affairs office, the "Painting Practice Team" believes that this wall should be a good place to 'show off their skills'.

To turn an old wall on campus into an "internet-famous wall", "what to draw" is a key proposition. Xiangtan Institute of Technology is organized by Geely Holding Group. How about drawing a car on it? How to concretize some popular songs that convey vigorous and positive energy? Quickly, the Team  drafted a “'Painting Road' Wall Overall Beautification Practice Project Plan”, setting the main tone of wall painting as“ Display school spirit and showcase youthful vitality.”After several brainstorming sessions, the questions of "what to draw," "how to draw," and "what kind of effect to draw" were finally determined in the plan.

With the support of school and relevant department leaders, the Team has been working hard to transform imaginative ideas into colorful actions, including process planning, approval, and procurement.

Overcome challenges and firmly grasp the quality and quantity of the project schedule

The painting started on a sunny afternoon.

The Team began a “renovation project” on a wall that was over fifty meters long and over two meters high.

Facing a dull grey cement wall, at first, the young team members didn't know where to start. The team leader took the initiative to roll up their sleeves, picked up a roller, dipped it in latex paint, and began brushing the cement wall. After a few rounds, the wall began to show a brighter and whiter effect. The members saw it and gained confidence, so they started working together. Unexpectedly, the wall that could have been completed with just one bucket of paint on the budget only had a rough surface painted, and the paint bucket was exposed.

The Team hurriedly drove to the specialty store to make a repeat purchase. Rushing against time, they finally managed to buy back the two buckets of paint before the sun set and continued with the wall painting. The next day, the whitewashing and finishing work on the walls continued. Hard work pays off. After multiple rounds of effect consolidation, the entire cement wall looks like it has been scraped with putty from a distance.

“The day we were bitten by mosquitoes and bees, but the difficulties still couldn't stop our progress!” A member of the Team shared on their WeChat Moments. That morning, a team member was stung by a bee while painting on the wall, and his hand was swollen and painful! During the painting process, due to the close proximity of the wall to the forest and the lack of cleaning for a long time, there were particularly many mosquitoes and insects, and the painting team members had to face various insect "sudden attacks" from time to time.

“I'm most afraid of rainy days!”The rainy weather has caused repeated delays in the wall painting project, which has made the members of the Team anxious.

“If we can finish it one day earlier, we can't be one day later!” Captain Chen Jiayan supervised and checked the wall painting effect, while collaborating with team members to paint and catch up on the construction progress.

Full of confidence, achieving breathtaking scenery

“Punk Style” cars full of dynamism, playful and interactive “WeChat chat boxes”, warm-hearted and three-dimensional “little red flowers”, “invisible wings” with a jungle-themed interface, technologically advanced “car hubs”, inspiring and ever-changing colorful "tangram puzzles"... Thanks to everyone’s collaborative efforts, these imaginative ideas gradually transformed into refreshing wall murals.“The light will eventually shine on you, and you will also shine brightly.”The warm wall painting slogan conveys a pulse of warmth to the passing teachers and students.

“Great! We also have wall painting at Xiangli!” “Wow, I was just praising the wall painting project at the School of Humanities and Arts with my classmates from Lei Feng class! ” “Nice! NICE!” After sharing the wall painting results on social media, the team members received snowflake like recognition and likes.

“This is the first painted wall we have built on campus. In the future, we will make more walls colorful.” Watching the hand drawn works fully recognized by everyone, the members of the Team were particularly happy. “This wall painting practice both provided us with professional skills training, and improved our collaboration ability. At the same time, we also felt the sense of achievement brought by the final completed results. This should be the great charm of ‘project-based’ education.”

Colorful wall paintings are not only expressions of beauty but also reflections of confidence, and furthermore, they represent the inheritance and promotion of excellent traditional culture. “Next, we can establish a wall painting studio, where through repeated practice, we can accumulate the ‘depth’ of wall painting and produce more achievements, making the ‘road of colorful paintings’ go further and further! Perhaps in the future, we can also use wall painting as a medium to carry out the ‘Hundred Villages Project’, making hundreds of villages more beautiful and vibrant, injecting more beauty into the world of villagers, and demonstrating the value of ‘project-based’ education of our school  and service to society!”On a sunny and warm noon, members of the "Painting Practice Team" sat together and imagined.