The Tujia people who are native to the Wuling Mountains in China, prefer to live near mountains but close to or sometimes even over rivers or streams. Thus, you'll find that many Tujia diaojiaolou are either placed directly on the waterfront or hang over the water. The Tujia believe that these stilted houses embody the coexistence of God and man, so the designs of their diaojiaolou often reflect this. Tujia diaojiaolou are hard to come by, since the Tujia people are slowly abandoning their old settlements and wandering lifestyles to assimilate into modern Chinese culture. Though declining, some efforts have been made to preserve the knowledge and display of these villages and housing styles, such as the Tujia Folk Customs Park in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, a large-scale replica of a traditional Tujia village. Jiang captures his own interpretation of this traditional village style in this almost abstract rendition of a river diaojiaolou village. Hints of life are hidden away even as portions of the walls and roof have been cut away by the artist so that the focus can remain on the land and village instead. At first glance this may appear to be a chaotic and simple piece. However, as one spends more time observing it, little details of realism and natural beauty begin to pop out. The lighting in particular creates a unique glow and warmth to the art as we see the sun's rays reflected off slanted rooftops and creating lush shadows of the clouds and reflections on the calm river canvas below. The complexity of the painting also becomes more noticeable. Jiang's talent for realism is often seen in the way he can expand the contents of a scene. For instance, here the hallow and dark underbelly of the houses in the low tide crawls back out away from light, with the occasional ghostly pillar permitting view of itself to the observer. The crooked boat seems to twist in the shallow waters out of reach from the residents above. While angled buildings and long tilted roofs draw the eye vertically and horizontally across the landscape breaking through the 2D nature of the work for a wonderful illusion of depth. A conversation piece for any space ready to reveal new details and delights with each viewing.