Zhou Chunya has become well known for three series of works: Mountain Stones, Green Dog, and Peach Blossoms. Zhou returned to China in the early 1990s from his studies in Germany where he had been influenced by German expressionism. In 1991, he began his mountain stone series, re-interpreting famous natural stones with abstract and complex elements. He painted the rocks using different shades and hues to create textures and form. Then through the influence of Chinese ink and water brush strokes he used short and powerful strokes to suggest the natural shape of the stones. A major critic Yin Shuangxi says, "In the early 1990s, after Zhou Chunya returned to China from his studies in Germany, he began painting strange Chinese scenery."

Zhou's strong attraction to expressionism is also seen in his "Green Dog" series which he began in 1997. The subject of the paintings was his beloved Haigen, a German Shepherd and his closest and most trusted companion. The green dog floating on a large white canvas is imbued with an arresting visual and emotional strength. Zhou has said that "the green dog is a sign, a symbol, indicating the loneliness of man and the emotional danger between people". Then in 2000 Zhou began his "Peach Blossoms" series further extending his artistic language and expression. This series, more than the others shows the deep influence of traditional Chinese brushwork and themes of the great Chinese masters.

The "Peach Blossoms" series resonates with bright greens, pinks and reds, which are worked with free and flowing brush strokes creating a vivid and enticing scene. Although reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings the energetic and vivid strokes set the works apart from the soft and elegant images traditionally rendered. Both the colors and the compositions have a bold and unrestrained expression as if emotions have been set free. Zhou is considered the greatest master in the use of colors in Chinese contemporary painting.

In the Peach Blossoms series, the peach flowers bloom luxuriantly and enticingly. The strong and vibrant colors add to the luxury and enchantment of the peach garden. In the garden, peach blossoms, traditional symbols of fertility and lust in Chinese culture, wave and glisten in the sun. Under the blossoms entwined lovers caress, embrace, copulate, or sometimes gaze, seemingly perplexed. The lush and resplendent peach blossoms create a harmony with the passionate lovers, as the painting expresses the full vigor and spontaneity of life. However, the blossoms are also transitory representing the fleeting nature of life. The peach blossoms in full bloom will be short-lived heralding the shortness of life for all living things. The blooming of the peaches represents the ecstasy of life; while the falling of the peach blossoms brings unstoppable sorrow. The flamboyant yet fleeting peach blossoms represent passionate, unbounded yet fleeting love. The paintings can also be understood as representing the acquisition of the thing most desired at a particular moment, and the failure to possess that forever. Between the desires of the flesh and the soul, a tragedy is unfolding, as we grasp at beauty and love and contemplate life's journey we are always faced with inevitability of death. (Interpreting "Peach Blossoms and Lovers" Series of Zhou Chunya (excerpt), Liu Lice, Wen Yi Zheng Ming, 2008, Issue 05)