Rong Zhengmao is on a mission to send his works to those who helped city fight COVID-19

Inside an old factory in Qingshan－a district of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province－there is a cigar-box-shaped art studio about 20 square meters in size.

A delivery worker is busy packaging 1,500 original Chinese ink drawings and calligraphy works that were produced by Rong Zhengmao, who at that point hadn't left his studio for two weeks.

The place smells of ink, and his artwork is placed everywhere.

Rong, wearing a gray hat and gray scarf, is busy writing. He looks tired but is enjoying his work.

The works are part of his big project: By 2023, he hopes to make and send his handmade art to every medical worker in the country who assisted the city in fighting COVID-19 last year. He has refers to such workers as "Hubei's benefactors".

Born and raised in Wuhan, Rong, 54, used to work in a State-owned manufacturing company.

He picked up sculpture and calligraphy skills around 2014 and went on to become a national senior artist and craftsman.

"I learned sculpture and calligraphy as a teenager, but hadn't practiced for years. After being laid-off by the company, I picked up these skills and got certified as a national craftsman in 2016," Rong said.

Starting the project

Rong did not get infected with COVID-19, but he was touched by the courage and sacrifice of the medical workers, so he developed an idea to show his gratitude in a unique way.

"I want to express my thanks to the medical workers who helped Wuhan fight COVID-19 at this time last year," Rong said.

"Many of them came from faraway places, including the autonomous regions of Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang province. Wuhan could not have recovered so soon without their sacrifice and hard work."

Since Spring Festival last year, he has produced more than 8,500 drawings and has sent them around the country to those who came to the rescue during the novel coronavirus epidemic.

"I sent out the first gift on March 17 to medical workers from Shaanxi province, 46 copies of bookmarks and calenders," Rong said.

"I looked to the Wuhan government in search for their names and addresses. Many of my friends also helped in providing sources."

The artworks also include exquisite postcards, calligraphic scrolls, notebooks and stamps.

"If I happen to know their birthdays, I will find a calendar of the same year and write 'Happy birthday' on it and send it out," Rong added.

Every souvenir is unique because each bears one of the recipients' names.

Carefully placing paper on the table, he uses different styles of writing in his works. It takes Rong anywhere from several hours to one full day to finish a work.

Since Jan 1, Rong has made drawings of cows and mice with the Chinese characters shishubuyi (meaning "not easy') and niuzhuanqiankun (meaning "to bring about big changes"). 2020 was the Year of the Rat in the Chinese calendar, and the Year of the Ox will begin on February 12.

"My daughter is very supportive of this idea," Rong said. "She has even given me inspiration for this year's gifts."

Since March last year, Rong has sent gifts to medical workers in the provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Guizhou, Shandong, Hainan, Henan, Hubei and Yunnan; the autonomous regions of Xinjiang Uygur, Ningxia Hui and Guangxi Zhuang; and Tianjin.

"I'm still searching for some of the names," Rong said.

Besides receiving help from the Wuhan government, he was also able to track down workers through Douyin, a short video platform in China.

Gratitude in reverse

Rong has received letters and messages from people who have received his gifts, appreciating his attentiveness.

Some of the gifts are displayed inside the medical workers' workplaces. Some have been donated to the National Museum, local museums and archive centers.

"The calligraphy work I sent to medical workers from Xinjiang was donated by them to the National Museum," Rong said.

More time-consuming than finding the recipients is packaging and mailing. Last year, Rong packaged and sent out 7,000 parcels with the help of family, friends and a delivery company.

"It was just me doing all the logistics because of the quarantine policy. Since August, friends have come to my studio and have helped me with all the packaging. Later, the delivery company Baishi heard about what I was doing and offered to help me package and deliver 5,000 packages for free," Rong recalled.

So far, Rong has spent about 300,000 yuan ($45,000) buying the materials, making the gifts and shipping them.

As of this month, Rong has sent out about 10,000 gifts.

"There are 30,000 more to go. I can't guarantee everyone will receive a copy, but I will try my best," Rong said.