A Self Funded Mural Artist Residency From Mongolia To China!
In 2025 I spent a month travelling through Mongolia and Inner Mongolia on a painting mission. I started out in Ulaanbaatar, linking up with local artists and painting almost every day — whether it was planned murals, community projects, or quick pieces in between. When I wasn’t on a wall, I was sketching ideas for future murals and soaking up inspiration from the places and people around me.
From there I took the Trans-Mongolian Railway south into Hohhot, China, where I collaborated with local graffiti artists on a production wall before jumping on a high-speed train through to Beijing. Along the way I painted everything from trains, buses, and abandoned buildings to festival walls and youth spaces. Some projects were organised, others were completely spontaneous, but together they made the trip a mix of adventure, collaboration, and constant painting.
Here are the projects from that journey:
911 Graffiti Store – Ulaanbaatar
One of the first stops on my Mongolia trip was the 911 Graffiti Store in Ulaanbaatar, a space run by some incredible local writers. The shop is built inside two old train carriages cut in half, and I had the chance to paint one of them during a spontaneous session right after arriving. It was a perfect way to connect with the local scene and kick off the trip with some paint on my hands.
Playtime Festival – City Reflections Mural
At Playtime Festival, I painted a mural inspired by everything I’d been soaking up in Ulaanbaatar: traditional clothing, museum artefacts stretching back centuries, and native animals like the lynx and the tiny, long-tailed jerboa. It became a piece that combined cultural history with the environment, weaving together the city’s past and present in colour.
Playtime Festival – Painted Bus
While at the festival, our team stored paint inside an old bus. With some spare time, we decided to give it a facelift. The result was a fun, laid-back jam session with the other artists, turning a simple storage bus into another layer of the festival’s creative energy.
Playtime Festival – Saiga Antelope Mural
The last mural I created at Playtime Festival was dedicated to the Saiga Antelope – a rare, almost otherworldly animal with its distinctive long nose. Sadly, these creatures are heavily poached and close to extinction. I wanted to bring awareness to their beauty and story through the wall, turning their vulnerability into a powerful image.
Abstract Wall – Ulaanbaatar
At the same bridge spot where I painted the red lynx, I decided to loosen up and go abstract. With leftover paint and no plan, I created a large, flowing shape that worked in with the surrounding stairs. After so many structured pieces, it felt refreshing to let go and just paint freely.
Lynx Jam Wall – Ulaanbaatar
Later in the trip, local artists showed us some jam walls around the city. At one of the best spots, I painted a massive red lynx – one of my favourite animals to paint because of its wild, sharp shape and presence. We zipped around Ulaanbaatar on electric bikes carrying paint, scoping locations and hitting walls, which made the whole mission feel like an adventure in itself.
Abandoned Building – Ulaanbaatar
We found a decaying abandoned building in the city and turned it into a playground for creativity. I painted a mural inspired by a brilliantly coloured local duck. At first, I wasn’t sure how bright colours would look against crumbling concrete, but in the end, the contrast between decay and vibrancy made the piece stand out in an unexpected way.
Mickey Hostel – Ulaanbaatar
While staying a couple of nights at Mickey Hostel in Ulaanbaatar, I asked the owner if I could paint their front wall. He was more than happy for me to jump in, and by the end he loved the result. I based the mural on a bird I had spotted during our trip in southwest Mongolia, bringing a piece of that journey back into the city. It became a simple but memorable way to leave a mark at the place we called home for a few days.
Ger District Youth Space – Ulaanbaatar
One of the most rewarding walls of the trip was at a youth centre in the Ger district, painted beside their brand-new soccer field. I created a mural of a cat playing with a soccer ball, which the kids helped me paint. Afterwards, we kicked the ball around together — it was one of those moments where art breaks down barriers and creates simple, genuine connections.
Battle Scene – Ulaanbaatar
The final piece of the trip in Ulaanbaatar was at another bridge wall. For this one, I drew inspiration from a wooden chest I had seen in town, which depicted a battle scene between two characters. I reimagined those figures in my own style, closing out the adventure by bringing a piece of the local history into my work one last time.
Wakey Wakey Bar – Hohhot, Inner Mongolia
Crossing over into China, I painted my first and only wall in Hohhot at Wakey Wakey, a new bar that was still under construction at the time. It became part of a full production wall alongside local Chinese graffiti artists, combining our styles into something bigger than the sum of its parts.
This ended up being the last wall of the adventure — a fitting way to close out the journey by blending cultures, friendships, and creativity into one piece.
Video Documentation
With this being such an epic adventure I had to bring my camera around with me to document the whole thing, check it out!
Have a mural project in mind?
Get in touch to discuss your project and receive a free quote.
Still exploring?
View more mural projects and explore my portfolio by project type.