The landscape of Xuanhe village in Pu'er, Yunnan province. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Locals in a village of Pu'er, Yunnan province, use red corn not only as a crop but also as a pigment to create artworks designed to boost local development.

Ning Si, a professor at Pu'er University and the Party secretary of Xuanhe village, bought red corn from the villagers and crafted the kernels into various artworks. Over the past three months, he has created 20 pieces depicting the village's daily life and culture.

Subjects include a heartwarming image of a little girl cuddling with a dog and characters from the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

He posts videos of the art online to gain a following and draw attention to the village. His goal is to promote rural development by placing the art around the village.

A heart-shaped box filled with local crops. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

A little girl snuggles with a dog. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhu Bajie, a character from the novel Journey to the West. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the novel Journey to the West. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Guan Yu, a prominent character from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Wu Song, a character from the novel Water Margin. [Photo by Ning Si/For chinadaily.com.cn]