The Leaf by Ma Daishu [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Leaf is a wordless graphic novel about a lonely young man and his sense of belonging in a labyrinthine city painted in grays and blues. It's a world of industrial piping that changes when the man finds a leaf that emits light. He discovers the city's secret and the power of a single leaf in this industrialized world.

"The pencil shading punctuated with a spot of color creates a unique aesthetic. The book is a meaningful urban fable," Peng Lun says.

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