Photo credit: Mel Taing

"Imagining a Greener, More Joyful Chinatown”
By Xiang Li & Fei Wu

 

Artist Statement

We are a mother-daughter artist duo based in Massachusetts. Xiang Li is a master Chinese painter who spent 40 years working in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Fei Wu, her daughter, is a designer and storyteller who helps bring Xiang’s artwork to public spaces across the United States.

This mural celebrates Chinatown’s future through joy, community, and care for the environment. Our playful panda characters represent harmony between humans, animals, and nature. Each panda brings a story—honoring family, health, play, music, and love for the Earth.

We imagined a Chinatown where green spaces bloom alongside small businesses, where art and culture feed the soul, and where children can thrive. Our pandas play traditional drums, hold Olympic medals, and care for the next generation—while bright flowers and birds sing of renewal and hope.

Thank you for visiting! May this mural spark smiles, stories, and shared dreams for a greener future.
— Xiang Li
 

About the Artist

Xiang Li is an internationally acclaimed artist who specializes in the reproduction and restoration of ancient Chinese paintings at the Forbidden City of Beijing, China, where she worked as a Master Artist for 37 years. Li’s most recent collection, Chinese Empresses, features over 200 empresses painted with gemstone watercolors on silk and has been showcased at the Harvard Museums, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Worcester Art Museum, JMAC, Cambridge Public Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, among others.

Photo courtesy of the artist