One person's graffiti is another person's high public art. Ma Xiao subscribes to the latter theory.

The public artist went viral recently, after a number of his works were released online.

The 30-year-old from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region became interested in outdoor public art in 2006. Back then he was more of a graffiti artist who could only make simple, quick drawings on shabby walls. Public outdoor art had not been accepted in cities at that time.

It was not until 2010 that Ma got the chance to create trendy art. And in 2017, he engaged his first major business project when a large shopping mall in Yinchuan, Ningxia, invited him to help create a large work of art on the walls outside one of its buildings.