A 10-kilometer-long road in Leshan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, distinguished by its harmonious integration of a natural flower sea and a creative graffiti wall, has gone viral online and emerged as a popular destination for both local residents and visitors.
The wall by the highway linking Leshan's districts of Shizhong and Shawan is covered with bougainvillea or paper flowers in full bloom. Clusters of bright magenta blossoms cascade the wall, on which are colorful graffiti artworks.
The view has attracted a steady stream of tourists, all coming to snap pictures and mark their visit.
"It's our first time here. We passed by before and saw the landscape here was pretty, so today we came with friends to check it out," said Xu Shanfeng, a tourist.
"We loved to come here before, but now with these murals coming into being, we love to come even more. It feels like the photos turn out nicer," said another tourist Fan Xiaoyu.
The scenic road runs along the Dadu River, which feeds into the Yangtze. In 2025, local art teachers and students began painting graffiti murals here on their own initiative.
Since then, the roadside wall, adorned with blooming flowers and one beautiful painting after another, has grown increasingly popular.
To keep that creative energy going and bring in fresh ideas from the public, Shawan District launched a co-creation graffiti art project for the road wall this year.
"We've seen people's creative enthusiasm. So we extensively solicited submissions to various social sectors. We set up a review committee during the process and evaluated the works. We also cleaned the wall, provided supports including scaffolding and sunshades, and offered some subsidies, to protect and encourage people's creative enthusiasm," said Li Xiangling, head of the project in Shawan District.
Submissions started in April this year. More than 20 artists signed up, and 14 original, high-quality murals were screened out. These works were unveiled during the May Day holiday, drawing widespread praise from visitors.
"I'm an art teacher in Shawan. The piece I created is called 'Meet You in Shawan.' It displays our slow-train culture in Shawan and the landscape along the Dadu River. I hope visitors from across the country will love it," said Xu Kai, a participant in the co-creation project.
To date, nearly 40 unique graffiti murals have been created along this scenic highway.
Roadside graffiti wall becomes new tourist attraction in Sichuan
As recovery efforts continue following the deadly collapse of a building under construction in Angeles City in the northern Philippines, a grieving mother waits for the remains of her son, hoping to finally take him home after two weeks of uncertainty.
As of Wednesday evening, the death toll from the collapse had risen to 27, with several people still reported missing.
The building collapsed at around 03:00 on May 24, trapping at least 30 people.
Mike Pineda, a parking attendant who witnessed the incident, recalled the terrifying moments when the structure came down.
"Right here in front of Chowking, at around past 2:00, the building suddenly collapsed within five seconds. Then an earthquake followed, like the ground was shaking," he said.
For the families of the victims, the tragedy continues long after the collapse.
Genita Amaro Celeste, whose son was among those killed in the accident, said she has been waiting for two weeks for his remains to be recovered so that she can finally bring him home.
"My son told me that he dreamed of being in the army someday. I really wanted him to fulfill his dreams because all his siblings were married and I wanted a good future for him, but now he's gone," she said.
Celeste said she has not taken part in the identification process at the morgue, fearing she would not be able to bear seeing her son in such a condition. Still, she remains determined to wait until he is found.
"I didn't join the identification of bodies at the morgue because I don't think I could handle seeing him like that, if he really is down there. They said that here, many of the bodies, some have no heads, some have no hands, they are all in pieces. But I said that even if the body is in pieces, even if the head is crushed, we would still recognize my son. That's why I just sent my son there to look. Because if I go there myself, I might end up dying there too. But if they can't recognize him, I will be the one to go. I just want him to be retrieved so we can finally go home and I can bring him with us. We can't just leave him here if he hasn't been retrieved yet. We've been here for so long – two weeks now. I hope he is retrieved whole," she continued.
Joseph Ponce, barangay captain of Balibago in Angeles City, said authorities were still accommodating relatives waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be released.
"Right now, we are still accommodating around 24 individuals from 11 families. They are waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be cremated. The number of retrieved bodies as of today is at 27. So it has exceeded the number they initially expected. What we are hoping for is that these victims will not be neglected, especially since we know they received financial assistance from the local government, but I think that is not enough for them to move on," he said.
Mother awaits return of son's remains after deadly Philippines building collapse
