New Year's Pictures, also known as “Nianhua” in Chinese, are a unique art form in Chinese folk culture. The paintings are called “New Year Picture” because they're mostly posted during the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival for decoration and it is also a symbol of New Year’s greetings. The picture conveys people’s jubilation and expectations of the coming year.

Origin

The history of New Year Picture dates back to the period of the Han Dynasty. Its original form was a picture of Door Gods. Later, in the Song Dynasty, New Year Picture became popular and wide spread. With the advancement of printing technology, the content and form of New Year Picture became more diverse. They were created on a considerable scale. During the period of the Qing Dynasty, when the art was in its heyday, it was formally recognized with the name New Year Picture.

Features

Traditional New Year Pictures, usually made by the block printing method, are characterized by simple, clear lines, brilliant colors and scenes of prosperity, which capture all of the jubilant festive customs, life details, stories from traditional opera novels and folktales. New Year Pictures mostly feature auspicious and joyous subjects including plump babies holding fish, the Old God of Longevity, landscapes, birds, flowers, the plowing cattle in spring and rich harvests in autumn.

Four Well-Known Localities

In keeping with the taste of the times and the artform's ubiquity, New Year Pictures are produced in all regions of China with different local characteristics. Although the leading producers are at four localities: Yangliuqing of Tianjin, Yangjiabu of Weifang in Shandong Province, Taohuawu of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and Foshan of Guangdong Province.

As a folk craft, New Year Picture embodies people’s best wishes for the future. Regarded as the symbol of good luck and happiness, it is usually updated once a year just as its name suggests, meaning “say goodbye to the past and welcome the future”.