Hu Niu and Xiang Zi in Sun's comic adaptation. [Photo/cri.cn]

Lao She thought highly of Sun's comic adaptation and provided him with other versions of the novel in different languages as references.

In Sun's comic, Xiang Zi and Hu Niu, two protagonists of the novel are neither handsome nor pretty. Yet Lao She was satisfied with their images in the adaptation.

Sun endeavored to create a real world in his illustrations of the novel. He spent four years drawing a true-to-life Beijing as described in The Rickshaw Boy in the adaptation, in which the furniture, clothes, houses, festivals and customs were all presented in a realistic way.