Beijingers, as well as those who visited Beijing from other parts of the country or even the world, flocked to Tianqiao to watch colourful performances and superb skills at low costs.

But those days are long gone, and the area has seen many great changes during the past 30 years. Large cultural, medical and commercial institutes have been set up in the Tianqiao area, such as Tianqiao Theatre, the Beijing Museum of Natural History, the Friendship Hospital and the Tianqiao Bazaar.

The modern age has taken over, and other art varieties are now in Tianqiao. But Beijingers still miss the folk arts which used to be popular in Tianqiao.

As he reminisced about what once was, Wang Shusheng decided to revive the golden days. His goal was realized when he established the Beijing Huasheng Tianqiao Folk Art and Cultural Centre last November.

Occupying an area of 2.3 hectares, the centre is located in the former Huawei Market on Zuo'an Road, close to Beijing Curio City and the Panjiayuan Second-hand Goods Bazaar.

Wang, 54, is a celebrated artist. Known as the master of grape painting, Wang excels in drawing grapes. He has won two golden prizes at the international calligraphy and art exhibitions held in Tokyo.

A native Beijinger, Wang was born into an artist's family. His grandfather He Baoshan, a famous artist, collector and connoisseur, was one of the closest friends of master painters Qi Baishi and Li Keran. Under the strict training and guidance of his grandfather, Wang Shusheng formed a firm grasp of basic skill of painting. He has tried to integrate the means of artistic expression, such as perspective and a sense of space featured by Western artists with the traditional techniques of Chinese ink painting.

He pursues an art result that highlights the combination of composition and artistic conception, forming his unique style in the pattern of refined and popular taste. Therefore, his vivid paintings are permeated with the spirit of the time and are full of life.

"Beijing folk art is a part of Chinese cultural treasure," Wang said. "In my childhood, I often went to Tianqiao, and watched the vaudeville and other shows while chewing foods of different local flavours. I often gasped with admiration at the outstanding skill of the performers. Those performances cast a deep influence on my career, even my entire life."

In the old times, all the performers were poor people. Having no other means for money and no one to depend on, they made a living by giving performances to the same poor people who could not afford to pay much for theatre or cinema tickets. Some of the performers were even disable persons, but they were broken in health not in spirit. Their consummate skill conveyed pleasure to the audience, while the disabled actors endured enormous pain or even risked their lives to perform.

Even though many performers had received little schooling or were illiterate, they excelled at reciting long theatre lines or telling stories. Tianqiao folk art reflected Chinese national spirits - steadfastness, perseverance, honesty and wisdom.

Wang is currently deputy general manager of the Changcheng Society of Calligraphy and Art and executive director of the China Qingfeng Association for the Art of Calligraphy and Painting. Even with his success and esteem, he still cherishs his wish to restore the prosperity of Tianqiao folk art and culture.