Nine pretty pictures, all in a row, are posted online by He Ping [Photo/qz123.com]

Nine pictures depicting Shuimenting -- an iconic scenic spot in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province -- went viral on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter on June 23.

Painted and posted online by He Ping, a renowned designer and illustrator from Quzhou, the nine pictures show Shuimenting in the twilight, at night, in the morning and on sunny days, rainy days and foggy days.

On June 19, He returned to his hometown for inspiration.

He said that sometimes when he introduced himself as a Quzhou resident, people acted strangely about the city, sparking the idea that he should promote his hometown to more people to enable them to appreciate its qualities.

Most of the Quzhou native's fans were born in the 1990s and 2000s. So, the question of broadening his appeal to young people, so they could respond to the initiative and to get to know Quzhou was the challenge.

The artist struck gold when he painted Quzhou's scenic spot on paper and posted them online to capture the younger people's attention, a shrewd move that proved quite a success.

The designer and illustrator said he now plans to show other scenic spots in the city via the tech gadgets used daily by youngsters, including mobile phone shells and notebooks.

"When they see beautiful things, they need to know where they are," he said.

He Ping gets busy painting Shuimenting. [Photo/qz123.com]