Editor's note: Museums and art galleries in Beijing have prepared choice exhibitions for visitors to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. Based on a 12-year cycle, each lunar year in the cycle has an animal symbol and 2019 marks the Year of the Pig. The following exhibitions will present how Chinese people celebrate the new year and why pigs are seen as the symbol of wealth in Chinese culture.
1. The Palace Museum
Exhibition: Han Meilin: Chinese Zodiac Art Exhibition
Location: Hall of Literary Brilliance (Wenhua Dian)
Dates: Jan. 6 -Feb. 20, 2019
This exhibition presents Han Meilin's depictions of the Chinese Zodiac (also known as Sheng Xiao, the twelve animals) in painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, purple clay pottery, wood carving, ironwork, furniture and folk art.
(Photo/The Palace Museum)
2. The Palace Museum
Exhibition: Celebrating the Spring Festival in the Forbidden City
Location: Meridian Gate (Wu Men)
Dates: Jan. 6 - Apr. 7, 2019
This exhibition presents the holiday theme with a showcase of historical art in the Meridian Gate's central and wing galleries and with festive decorations throughout the Forbidden City.
(Photo/The Palace Museum)
3. National Museum of China
Exhibition: Chinese Lunar New Year Exhibition
Location: Gallery S7
Dates: Jan. 29 - Mar. 3, 2019
The National Museum of China invited 54 famous calligraphers to create Spring Festival couplets for the exhibition, and also presents ancient paintings to let viewers feel the depth of Chinese traditional culture.
(Photo/National Museum of China)
4. Capital Museum
Exhibition: Harmony and Good Harvest: Celebrating the Spring Festival in the Year of Pig
Location: Waterscape Courtyard
Dates: Jan. 29 - Mar. 17, 2019
To celebrate the Year of the Pig, this exhibition presents a series of ancient collections with the same theme of the pig, such as jade, pottery, bronze, and paintings.
(Photo/Capital Museum)
5. National Art Museum of China
Exhibition: Beauty in Landscape: NAMOC Collected Landscape Works Exhibition
Location: Halls 1-10
Dates: Jan. 22 - Feb. 24, 2019
The exhibition displays 300 pieces of landscape art works NAMOC has collected since the founding of the People's Republic of China. They cover the categories of traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, print, watercolor and sculpture.
(Photo/National Art Museum of China)
6. Beijing Fine Art Academy
Exhibition: Elegance &Savour: Life, Wisdom and Art in Chinese Culture
Location: Art Museum F1-4
Dates: Jan. 29 - Feb. 28, 2019
The exhibition selects more than 110 classics of calligraphy and painting from the art museum collections to present the Spring Festival culture in ancient and modern China.
(Photo/Beijing Fine Art Academy)
