Chuvin said they expect more exchanges and cooperation with Hainan artists.

"The paintings by Russian artists give me a new feeling toward my own hometown. It is a rare and happy experience to learn their skills of art expression and vision for oil painting in Haikou," said Li Ying, a local amateur oil painter.

The Repin Academy of Fine Arts is a world top-four academy of fine arts. It has a long tradition of exchanges with Chinese art circles and has helped train a number of outstanding talents for China, according to the provincial federation of literature and art circles.