Every month I would drive back to my hometown from Kunming
Stay for a few days, zoning out on the balcony
Facing the Erhai Sea, with the Cangshan Mountain in the back
No matter how exhausted I am
This always cheers me up
I grew up by the Erhai Sea
It was crystal clear when I was little
We'd play and catch fishes by the sea all day long
It was beautiful
But later, the sea was polluted
Water turned turbid, and children stopped coming to play
In 1998, I was 16 years old
I left home to study and work in Kunming
And have stayed in the city since then
Starting from 2015
I decided to leave something for passing on in the family
So I built the house on our own homestead in Dali
It's a four-storey building
On the first floor we have a public lounge area, dining room and kitchen
And a traditional Bai courtyard
Covering an area of over 1400 square meters
There are three guest rooms on the second floor
And a living room
For displaying my costume design works
I usually live on the third floor
The house also functions as a hostel hosting guests from afar
The balcony on the roof overlooks the Erhai Sea and the Cangshan Mountain in distance
The sea had been heavily polluted
After a few years of pollution abatement, it turned back the way it was
We attempt to integrate local traditional culture
And modern homes
Replacing fire pan with fireplace
But the Chinese characters "Qing Bai Chuan Jia" was kept on the screen wall in the courtyard
Locals can tell the family name
Through the characters on the screen wall
The carved wooden door evokes memories of my old home
Different patterns shows different wishes
Crane symbolises longevity, and pomegranate flower wishes for fertility
I collected lots of pre-owned furniture, and I like modern furniture as well
Through mix and match
They create great surprises for me
Under the roof are pre-owned sets of table and chair
Arranged into three sitting areas
My friends would talk and have tea here in the sun
We locals like handmade things
So the outer wall of the courtyard is made of Dali bluestone
The pattern on the stone slab can only be chiseled by craftsman
These years more people are moving to Dali
The frontier of culture extends
As a native creator
I have different ways of life and thoughts about art
Through constant communication
I got the idea of making such a space
Merging modern and tradition
The market in Xizhou is so much fun
I learn to cook hometown dishes from the elders
To consolidate the memory of food
Also to let more people know
My children love it here
They remind me of my old self
By the Erhai Sea, we were skipping stones, nobody wanted to leave
Here you can just relax let children do whatever they want
Unlike in the city there are always so many things to worry about
I visit my grandma every time I come back
I spent childhood time with my grandma, selling stuff
She used to take me around the village
The people in my hometown are still some and kind as ever
I'm always a child around my grandma
I can leave everything behind