As a student majoring in arts, Hao Liang has been to many places across the country, and Pingtan's people left a deep impression on her.

"Sometimes we could come across local villagers when shooting pictures,"said Hao, "With great friendliness, usually they would greet us in their local dialect."

Wei Chenyi, a student from Fujian, agreed with her classmate.

"Pingtan is a place where people would linger on without any thought of leaving. The illuminating smiles on the local people's faces might be the most memorable thing for me," said Wei.

The students from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts pose for a group photo in celebration of Pingtan becoming a venue for the school's vacation artists'retreats. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]