Characters count

Banners of calligraphy hang all over the airport terminal of Wuhai in the west of Inner Mongolia autonomous region. A gas station on the highway leading to downtown is also decorated with exquisite calligraphic Chinese characters.

It is difficult to link this city, with only decades of history on the edge of the Gobi desert, to that art form steeped in Chinese tradition. It's even more surprising to learn that the China Calligraphers' Association declared Wuhai the nation's first "City of Calligraphy" in 2008.

However, more than 10,000 people out of the local half-a-million population consistently practice calligraphy, excluding relevant classes at all local primary schools and some high schools and universities. Meanwhile, 3,000 people participate in all levels of fine arts exhibitions. That's striking in an immigrant city long known for its rich coal reserve and industrial base.

Wang Wenbin, 69, is the former head of the city's calligraphers' association. When he traveled more than 3,000 kilometers from his hometown of Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia's far northeast to Wuhai in 1966 to work in a coal mine, he never expected to find himself in a booming calligraphy hub. Born into an accountant's family, he had practiced the art back home.

"People used to keep accounts via writing brushes, which forced me to have a fine handwriting in my childhood," he explains, rummaging through some yellowing papers which record the history of the mine. "It is a coincidence that a doctor at the mine is an outstanding calligrapher who encourages miners to switch to this hobby after seeing their unhealthy life style."