Leaders attending the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit pose for a group photo ahead of a banquet in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, June 9, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] 

Guests will be immediately attracted by a giant gongbi painting (meticulous brushwork) hung on the wall while entering the foyer of the banquet hall of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit venue. 

Titled "Hua Kai Sheng Shi" (Peonies blooming in a flourishing age), the painting, standing at 15.5 meters tall and 4.2 meters wide, depicts 218 full-blown Chinese peonies that sends good wishes to those attending the summit as well as conveying wishes for harmony and prosperity in the world. 

Peonies were particularly popular during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when they were grown in the imperial gardens and viewed as the "king of flowers". The flowering plants usually symbolize wealth and social status and are still much-loved in China. 

The painting took around 70 days to complete, and required the work of five skilled farmer painters from Shandong province's Juye county. 

Many farming communities in China are known for their rural cultural industry, but Juye county has built a reputation as the "hometown of farmer painters". During the off-season, farmers there supplement their incomes with homegrown artwork. 

The county has more than 15,000 farmers involved in the painting industry in over 50 villages. The revenue from paintings reached 500 million yuan ($78 million) in 2017 and is growing rapidly in scale and in the number of people coming back to this business.

CGTN contributed to this story. 

Farmer artists from Juye county create together the giant painting decorating the banquet hall of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit venue. [Photo/dzwww.com]

Farmer artists from Juye county pose for a group photo in front of the giant painting decorating the banquet hall of the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit venue. [Photo/dzwww.com] 

Villagers paint at the village cultural center in Shandong's Juye county, which is known as "hometown of farmer painters". [Photo/CGTN]