After the Marco Polo Bridge incident, Fu Baoshi and his family moved to Chongqing and lived in a simple cottage at Jingangpo in the rural part of the city. Under harsh economic and living conditions, Fu thrived and continued his artistic creativity. Once he said, 'No painter would be untouched by the mountains and rivers in Sichuan K the picturesque environs of Jingangpo provide endless inspirations for artists that are so unique the comrades living in the South East are deprived of them'. As a result of his frequent travels in the mountains, Fu started to create a series of landscape paintings with a distinctive style which became his signature pieces. Visiting a Friend in the Mountains is one of them.

Fu Baoshi employed seemingly unorganized brushstokes to depict the mountain structure to bring out its loftiness. The running streams and waterfalls and the two scholars are vividly rendered. All the elements come together harmoniously creating a breath-taking view of Jingangpo.