Born during a thunderstorm 75 years ago, his name is as eccentric and mysterious as his native town, and even his art.

Lei Yufeng, whose name means "thunder, rain and wind," is striving to preserve the two-millennium-old supernatural culture in Fengdu, a western China city dubbed "the ghost town" because it controls the gates of hell in Chinese tradition.

Gods and spirits are the main characters in Lei's wooden scoops, which are usually hung inside houses by farmers in Fengdu who believe such paintings can ward off bad luck and evil.

"There are countless legends and tales about gods and evil spirits in this ghost town," Lei said. "Even a single brick or tile here can tell a unique spirit story."

The legend associated with the town goes back more than 2,000 years, when the names of two residents, Yin and Wang, were confused with "Yinwang", the Chinese name for "King of the nether world." The two became notorious in Fengdu.

Some 172 kilometers from Chongqing, west China's biggest metropolis, Fengdu is one of the counties due to be swallowed by the reservoir formed by the Three Gorges water conservancy project.

Like Lei, more than 1 million people have been resettled to make way for the Three Gorges Reservoir, the biggest hydro-electric project in the world, due to be completed in 2009.

Lei was feeling increasingly nostalgic as the land he and his ancestors had lived in for centuries was about to disappear, since the sluice gate of the dam of the massive Three Gorges Project was closed Sunday, June 1, to store water.

"I yearn for the past of my native town every day," Lei said. "I am always thinking about how to pass on the ghost culture here."

Growing up in a poor family, Lei received no early training but was drawn to painting as a child by nature and the landscape of the countryside.

The numerous myths among the people also helped develop his artistic skills, he said.

However, Lei did not take up wooden scoop painting until 1989 when he retired.

To date, Lei has produced more than 4,000 painted wooden scoops, which have been sold to countries like the United States and Japan.

His paintings describing the ghost culture were honored as "superb folk art" by the Chinese Ministry of Culture in 1994.

"The ghost culture in Fengdu expresses people's desire to command nature rather than show fear and irritation," Lei explained.

Lei often told his children about the myths of gods and spirits and local customs, and hopes to pass on his artistic skills to his granddaughter, who is now only in primary school.

Construction on the Three Gorges Project began in 1993 and is expected to submerge 632 square kilometers of land by the time it is completed in six years.

Many fear the inundation will destroy those cultures held by locals for centuries.

"By no means should we let the Three Gorges culture vanish in the hands of our generation," said Hu Zhenhao, 80, who preserves folk songs sung by people when tracking boats, a tradition also in danger of disappearance.

"Because the influence of the culture at the Three Gorges extends far beyond China, it must be saved," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2003)