After losing his business and returning home, award-winning graffiti artist Shang Xiaoyue is still holding on to "one last dream."

Taking forgotten buildings and empty construction sites as his canvases, the native of Jinhua, Zhejiang Province creates by night to avoid being caught by the urban management officers (cheng-guan), all the while hoping one day for a legitimate place to practice his passion.

"Graffiti doesn't destroy public space. It's an art that beautifies," explains Shang.

Winner of the 2007 Yintai Cup held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and finalist of the 2008 Wall Lords Graffiti Competition, the biggest of its kind in Asia, the 25-year-old art education major is doing his part to help people recognize graffiti as an important art form.

"In many cities there are legal areas for people to write graffiti. We should have our own legal space," Shang said.

Legal wonderwalls

Many major city governments are taking steps to recognize graffiti as part of the Chinese urban landscape.

In Beijing, places like the Temple of Heaven's East Gate, 798 Art District and Olympics Wall near Renmin University of China all have designated graffiti areas. Shenzhen devoted a 1,000-meter-long wall along the bank of Buji River to graffiti art, while Chongqing boasts "the longest graffiti area in the world" with its 50,000 square meter Huangjiaoping Graffiti Street, according to the Chongqing Evening News.

However, convincing smaller city governments of the value of Shang's art is not as simple.

Last summer, while working on a piece depicting a lotus flower at a construction site while living in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, a chengguan caught Shang and forced him to clean off the paint and destroy his own art.

"I was so embarrassed and angry, but I had to wipe off my graffiti. There was nothing else I could do," he said.

In order to find a platform for his graffiti, Shang appealed to the Quzhou city government last June to allot him a stretch of wall where he can write legally. However, officials told him that most of the walls that line the streets are privately owned, many by advertising companies to be used as billboards and declining his request.

"All the city cares about is money, not art," he said.

Canned art

Originally an amateur street dancer, Shang became fascinated with graffiti through classmate Ma Shang while studying art education at Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province in 2007.

"Like street dance, graffiti is also a part of hip-hop culture, so I love it," Shang said.

Shang acquainted himself with the basic techniques of graffiti through websites such as graffiti.org, cantwo.com, citing graffiti writers such as Can2 (Germany), Dare (Sweden) and JNJ Crew (South Korea) as his strongest influences.

But Shang also has heroes at home, such as last year's Wall Lords champ Xianggang Style crew, led by Shanghai's Zhang Lan, one of the most famous graffiti artists in China today.

Shang's style focuses on incorporating traditional Chinese landscape painting technique and calligraphy into his pieces.

"I use landscape painting as the foundation of my graffiti and use calligraphy to write English letters."

Krylon dreams

In 2007, Shang and Ma started their own two-man crew, calling themselves The Last Dream, or TLD, a reference to the pursuit of their passion. To practice, they found a 120-meter long tunnel near a train station to serve as their hidden graffiti "base," something that Shang finds bittersweet.

"Although no one bothers us there, we want more people to see our graffiti," Shang said. "To tell the truth, we feel kind of conflicted and powerless."

To devote more time to his art, he refused a job as an art teacher in a primary school in Jinhua. It was then he followed his girlfriend 100 kilometers west to Quzhou in July 2008. Soon after he started a dance studio, KOD (Keep On Dancing /Keep On Drawing).

"My parents were angry at that time. But they had no way to deal with me and finally gave in," Shang said.

Shang sketches everyday and completes a piece of graffiti once a week. Simpler pieces take 20 seconds, while a complex design one can take up to three days. On average, he spends about 200 yuan ($29) per piece on paint and supplies.

However, due to his studio's lack of business, Shang closed it last month and returned to Jinhua. But all this can't hold back his passion for his art.

"As soon as I see a white wall, even some white space on a wall, I have a strong desire to write," he said.

Unemployed and trying to figure out his next step, he often returns back to his "base" to take his mind off of things and write graffiti.

"After all, graffiti is my last dream," he said.