The beauty of Tibet is as graceful as the luster of jade, simple and unfeigned, says Nan Haiyan, a folk artist who has visited Tibet for times.

　　　　"I went to Tibet just because I love painting and the plateau could give me enough inspiration," Nan says.

　　　　During his stays in Tibet, he had visited by bike all villages, streets and lanes of Tibet's capital of Lhasa, creating many sketches and paintings reflecting the plateau's scenery and folklores.

　　　　"I love Tibet's folk culture from the bottom of my heart, including its religions, people's beliefs and conventions. I have a special attachment to ordinary people on this plateau. I'm often inspired by their creations such as sculptures, costumes, architectures, songs and dances," Nan says, adding that the past 50 years has witnessed tremendous changes taking place in Tibet.

　　　　"I must do something to enable our offspring to see Tibet's culture more vividly, other than ask them to visit museums only," says Nan.

　　　　Nan’s Tibet-related paintings features nomadic Tibetans engaged in their daily activities against the harsh, mountainous terrain that has defined their civilization.

　　　　"Nan describes Tibet as a land at the 'peak of the world,' and captures within this landscape the people who are part of this awesome land," said art critics. "In Nan’s portraits, you see Tibetans as individuals, carrying water, herding sheep, hunting, cooking, watching and thinking."

　　　　Nan’s works have been well recognized as top paintings in the country, and caused a large stir in Chinese artistic circles and literary circles, and has gained a wide range of concerns, comments, research and impact.

　　　　Born in Pingyuan County, Shandong province in 1962, Nan now is a top Chinese painter specializing in depicting human figures.

　　　　As well as working for the Beijing Art Academy, Nan is a member of the China Artists Association and a visiting professor of China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

　　　　The Beijing Art Academy, established in May 1957 with the support of former Premier Zhou Enlai, was China’s first, and until recent times the largest, professional art academy.

　　　　Nan joined the Wang Mingming Workshop of Beijing Art Academy in 1994 and received instruction from such well-known artists as Lu Chen, Zhou Sicong and Yao Youduo.

　　　　Nan’s art pieces have won a series of awards both domestically and overseas. At the age of only 27, he received the Most Promising Award at a contest jointly held by the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

　　　　Due to his distinctive and compelling work, Nan has been frequently invited to participate in noted exhibitions and events. He has also presented personal exhibitions on both the mainland and in Taiwan.

　　　　To gain inspiration from local life and people, he frequently travels to and lives in west China, often in Tibet.

　　　　His drawings of human figures are perhaps his strongest suit. While traditional Chinese painting still has an important place in the life of modern Chinese, many painters now express these new times in new ways.

　　　　By combining modern expression with traditional Chinese painting techniques, they are opening up an unexplored artistic world of artistic expression. Nan is clearly one of them.

　　　　His art style is also generally seen by art critics as from the "realism school", but Nan says he does not define it as realism or modernism.

　　　　"I am painting in the pursuit of expressing my mind and heart," he says.