With the upcoming warm spring, a variety of activities are presented in Beijing. There are various kinds of exhibitions in the Central Gifts and Artifacts Centre, the National Art Museum of China, and other places. Let's go enjoying art in such a fabulous early spring!
1. Exhibition of the gifts exchanged between leaders on diplomacy occasions
More than 670 series of precious gifts that Chinese leaders have received or given to in the diplomatic activities since the People's Republic of China are now officially available for the public to have a look at in the Central Gifts and Artifacts Centre. This exhibition, named 'friendly communication with a shared destiny', follows the order of significant diplomatic affairs since 1949 and consists of three chapters and two thematic districts. It systematically introduces the glorious history of Chinese diplomacy and the great achievements the communists have obtained, especially those historical and groundbreaking fulfillment since the 18th CPC National Congress.
These gifts include a bronze sculpture "Hand of Peace" from the then UN Secretary-General de Cuella, a silver-gold-encrusted camel-shaped Laitong Cup presented by the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on celebrating the birth of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In addition to the exquisite and gorgeous artworks, some seemingly ordinary "small objects" also entails profound friendship. For example, a commemorative USB flash drive for the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway by Kenyan President Kenyatta at the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017.
On the first day of this exhibition, hundreds of people came to visit. The exhibition not only brings the public a sense of beauty but also the strongness of the nation.
Exhibition time: on display
Venue: Central Gifts and Artifacts Center
2. Thematic Exhibition of the Great Spirit of the Founding of the CPC
This exhibition, co-organized by the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China , the Shanghai Library, and the Beijing Luxun Museum (Beijing New Culture Movement Memorial Hall), opened at the Beijing Luxun Museum on February 27. This is also the first stop of the ‘Thematic Tour Exhibition of the Great Spirit of the Founding of the Party.
This exhibition comprises five parts under the theme of ‘great spirit of the founding of the party. They respectively introduce the historic background, theoretical source, and empirical fundament of the founding spirit, and the spirit manifested in building the first revolutionary base in Jinggang Mountains, in the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, in the Reform and Open up, in the poverty alleviation.
The exhibition displays more than 100 cultural relics and objects collected in the Memorial Hall of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Beijing Luxun Museum (Beijing New Culture Movement Memorial Hall), with introducing panels as a supplement to explain. It combines the characteristics of the cultural relics collected by the two sides, not only retaining the core characteristics of the exhibition, but also ingeniously integrating the elements of the Lubo New Cultural Center itself, giving the exhibition new vitality and appearance, and also ushering in a good start for the launch of the touring exhibition.
Exhibition period: until March 30
Venue: Beijing Luxun Museum
3. Beautiful China - A World of Color Images
This exhibition is themed ‘Beautiful China’, including more than 130 painting works of Chinese scenery. Wu Weishan, the standing member of the national political consultative committee, the director of the National Art Museum of China(NAMOC), and the vice-chairman of China Artists Association , commented that those artworks ‘not only depict the appearance of the Chinese landscape, also the spirit of Chinese people.
This exhibition is divided into five parts: The first part introduces classic artwork depicting the mountains and lakes of masters early in the 1900s. The second part reviews the socialist revolution while the third part manifests the construction progress. The fourth part describes the historic and cultural attractions, followed by the last part focusing on the natural scenery in China.
Exhibition Time: until March 23
Venues: Hall 13-17, NAMOC building
4. Treasures of China - China Intangible Cultural Heritage and Arts and Crafts Exhibition
The exhibition exhibited 1,298 fine arts and crafts and intangible cultural heritage treasures in various categories, including arts, crafts, traditional musical instruments, Silk Road murals, Chinese opera, Chinese seal cutting, etc., 80% of which are open to the public for the first time, and most are the collections accumulated by the Chinese Academy of Arts for 70 years.
The most eye-catching collection should be the "Four National Treasures" of jade, whose complement took eight years by more than 40 masters. One of them is the largest work about flowers in the history of Chinese jade art.
During the visit, the audience can appreciate the guqin, a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument, of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the murals copying works along the Silk Road, and watch traditional opera. During the visit, people can listen to the explanation of the exhibits by scanning the QR code, and they can also experience these traditional arts in person.
5. Folk Art Exhibition in NAMOC
Since spring is a perfect season for kite flying, a giant kite with a dragon head and centipede body are presented in the exhibition. Apart from this, more than 160 folk artworks are carefully selected from the various museum, covering categories like paper-cutting, New Year paintings, shadow play, etc., showing unique culture and customs of different ethnic groups and regions in China. Since this year is the Year of Tiger, the exhibited work is all about 'tiger' and 'spring'.
Exhibition Time: Until March 23
Venues: Hall 19-21, Buildings of NAMOC
6. Ordinary and Extraordinary - Li Pingfan's Creation and Donation Exhibition
The famous printmaker Li Pingfan was born in 1922, formerly known as Li Wenkun. When he was fifteen years old, the "July 7 Incident of 1937" occurred. Inspired by the new woodcut movement advocated by Mr. Lu Xun, he began to teach himself woodcut, and since then, his printmaking has been closely connected with the context of the times. His early works mainly showed the hard life of the toiling masses. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, his work turned out to reflect a peaceful and happy life.
His printmaking "We Want Peace" won the silver medal at the Leipzig International Print Exhibition in Germany in 1959, which become a classic Chinese artwork. It illustrates three children of different skin colors who are smiling and snuggling together, and one of them is holding a white dove that symbolizes peace. This work is the representative work that best reflects his artistic characteristics.
In this exhibition, more than 100 works are selected from the more than 1,600 works donated by Mr. Li Pingfan. The exhibition is divided into two sections, respectively the creation of Mr.Li and his collections which he has donated to the NAMOC.
Exhibition period: until March 9 (closed on Monday)
Venue: Exhibition Halls 5, 7, and 11 of the NAMOC
7. The Disappearing World - Photography Exhibition of Endangered Animals
This exhibition selects dozens of works by the world's most influential animal photography artist Tim Flach, focusing on the global ecological environment and biodiversity from the perspective of art, calling people's attention to the disappearing endangered animal.
Since endangered wild animals are rare and cannot be seen in people's daily life, it is difficult for ordinary people to understand their value. Through art photography, which ingeniously uses color, light and shadow, and composition to give viewers a special aesthetic experience, it captures rare wonderful moments or moving scenes of engendered animals. Therefore, it is of importance for scientific research and artistic appeal, having unique advantages in spreading life science knowledge and promoting the concept of wildlife and natural environment protection.
Exhibition time: March 8-June 12
Venue: Beijing Natural History Museum
