Paintings capture city's great changes over the years
-
-
-
-
-
-
Some of the paintings created by freelancer artists for the exhibition.
Ti Gong
Hundreds of paintings depicting China's rapid development in the last decade are on display at the Fengxian District Museum as one of the key local attractions during the weeklong National Day holiday, which begins on Saturday.
The exhibition, featuring 200 paintings created by Chinese freelance artists, is free to the public through November 29. An online exhibition hall has also been launched to offer a virtual tour.
The paintings are categorized into four sections: the landscape of China, urban-rural scenery, lives of Chinese people and portraits of all walks of life. They showcase the patriotism of the freelance artists and their intention to record social development in their art creations, according to the organizers.
The freelance artists include independent painters, cartoonists and television and film producers. They, along with other freelancers and members of the new economy and social organizations, are part of the country's "new social class."
The new class, which primarily emerged after the nation's reform and opening-up, have contributed a great deal to the country's development. There are about 150 million members of this new class, accounting for 11.5 percent of the nation's total population.
A virtual tour of the exhibition is available.
More than 1,800 artworks from domestic freelance artists were collected after the organizer began soliciting exhibits for the event, of which only 200 were selected and are on display at the museum.
Renowned cartoonist Gan Feng, better known by his pseudonym Murong Yindao, created serial cartoons titled "Our 70 Years" for the exhibition along with another local artist, Zhu Xiaohu.
Gan is famous for the cartoon dog Daodao, which is deemed a healing cartoon figure for people going through difficult times, while his partner Zhu created the Tiger Cafe in Shanghai several years ago.
The serial paintings depict the slice of life of a typical Shanghai family and display the great changes of the city during the last seven decades.
Visitors can also view other exhibitions at the museum during the holiday.
The museum, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, covers 20,000 square meters next to Jinhai Lake. It features permanent exhibitions about urban planning and the history of Fengxian, which gained its name in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) when early residents in the area offered help to an apprentice of Confucius.
Another exhibition depicts the history of its seawall, a listed historical site the city built in 1713 on the orders of the emperor. The flood barrier has contributed to the social and economic development of the city and part of it has been well preserved.
Exhibition info:
Dates: Through November 29
Tickets: Free
Venue: Fengxian District Museum
Address: 333 Hupan Rd
Scan the QR code to enter the online exhibition hall.
