A farmer named Sun Zhaojian from Pingxiang County, Hebei province has become an accomplished painter of calabashes, or gourds. He never studied the art form when he was younger, but he nevertheless has found success through perseverance and practice.

Sun said his interest in calabash painting began four years ago. Combining calabash painting with traditional Chinese pyrography, Sun paints with a soldering iron rather than paintbrushes. The seemingly simple creation is indeed a complicated work, between the selection of materials and processing each piece after the painting is done. In addition, Sun frequently burns his hands due to the high temperature of the soldering iron.

Sun's studio is filled with various calabash paintings, and each one is a unique; Sun believes every calabash has its own story or moral. Eager to support his hometown, Sun hopes to promote the local culture through his paintings.