Li Junmin, a 64 year-old farmer from Dongfeng county, Jilin province in China, never thought his painting would be on display at the United Nations.

The Chinese Peasants Calligraphy and Painting Research Association (CPCPRA) collected a total of 108 paintings by 108 farmers from 35 counties for the show, which runs May 21-23 at the UN.

Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Wang Min, CPCPRA president Wang Linxu and Bi Mingxin, executive vice-president of CPCPRA, were present at the exhibition opening ceremony on Wednesday at the UN.

Launsky-Tieffenthal passed along UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's best wishes on the exhibition.

"Thank you for bringing such a distinguished exhibition to the UN," Launsky-Tieffenthal said.

Wang said the exhibition would help Western people understand China better.

"This exhibition is not only a showcase of talented contemporary Chinese farmer's paintings, but also tells the world of their Chinese dream and their love of the work," Wang said.

Wang Linxu, president of CPCPRA, a painter himself whose paintings have been on permanent display at the UN since 2013, said it was amazing to see how talented and creative Chinese farmers are.

"Chinese farmers' painting has a long history. It can be summarized as 'painting the sky, painting the land, and painting your daily life'. They are the simplest way to show a painter's expression," said Wang.