I'm from Chang Sha, from the southeastern part of China, in Hunan Province. I was familiar with the canal because in my high school we had global geography class, and they mentioned the Erie Canal as the second longest canal in the world. The longest one is the Jing-Hang Canal, from Beijing to Hangzhou.

So I was aware of the Erie Canal, but didn't really know that it goes through Syracuse. When I researched it, I saw that it went through Clinton Square, and that it really influenced people's daily life. So for the poster, I just imagined how people lived with the canal around them, and I tried to convey their emotional connections. I used a perspective that looks down on the canal, because the water itself can show passion, can show its own beauty. I wanted to present it like a face, so you see it face to face.