The ongoing exhibition at Shanghai Art Museum, Treasures of a Millennium, features 105 pieces (sets) of Chinese paintings, calligraphy, stone carvings and ancient books from the collection of the time-honored art institution Duoyunxuan Group. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shanghai Duoyunxuan, a renowned cultural and time-honored brand, is presenting its most valued art collection for the first time in a free exhibition at the China Art Museum, Shanghai, also known as the Shanghai Art Museum.

The ongoing exhibition Treasures of a Millennium features 105 pieces/sets of Chinese paintings, calligraphy, stone carvings, ancient books, and more, spanning the 7th to early 20th century.

Among the most precious paintings and calligraphy works is an album of ink paintings by seven masters, including Ma Lin from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The works are presented alongside some of the more familiar artists of the 19th-20th century, such as Zhang Daqian, Wu Changshuo and Ren Bonian.

One highlight is an ink painting by contemporary artist Liu Danzhai. The large piece, spreading 3.67-meter wide and 1.41-meter tall, depicts eight horses staying by a willow-lined pond, drinking, bathing, and playing with the water, while some neigh and leap high, creating a joyous atmosphere.

Visitors will also find a series of epigraphy and antiques that were once significant in China's literati lifestyle, such as seals carved on precious stones that combine poetry, calligraphy and painting.

As an event celebrating the Year of the Horse, the exhibition is arranged in four chapters, each introduced by a horse-themed painting by Xu Beihong, an influential Chinese artist and educator who played a significant role in the reformation of Chinese art, which integrated the Western art training system. His horse-themed ink wash paintings have received high acclaim in China.

While the first three are original ink paintings, the fourth piece is a reproduction of Xu's painting made from a woodblock waterprint, a unique technique of overprinting and color-block printing dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Since its founding in 1900, Shanghai Duoyunxuan has been dedicated to inheriting and developing the traditional art of woodblock printing. In 2008, Duoyunxuan's woodblock water-print technique was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

The ongoing exhibition at Shanghai Art Museum, Treasures of a Millennium, features 105 pieces (sets) of Chinese paintings, calligraphy, stone carvings and ancient books from the collection of the time-honored art institution Duoyunxuan Group. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Now, Duoyunxuan Group is a comprehensive institution dedicated to purchasing, distributing, publishing, and collecting fine art.

Zhu Qi, general manager of Duoyunxuan Group, says at the exhibition opening: "We hope this exhibition bridges the gap between art and daily life, allowing the public to experience the charm of artistic masterpieces firsthand."

Every day of the Chinese New Year holiday, the curatorial team arranged guided tours of the exhibition, and invited art scholars to give lectures about traditional Chinese art.

Since opening on Jan 31, the exhibition has received more than 100,000 visitors.

Some art lovers have returned to the exhibition for a second and third view. Zheng Mingchuan, the group's deputy general manager and the exhibition's curator, even encountered two elderly visitors who had returned five or six times. "They smile and say, 'Look, we are back again,'" Zheng says, touched by their enthusiasm.

Wang Yichuan, executive director of the Shanghai Art Museum, emphasizes that the collaboration between cultural enterprises and art institutions is a vivid practice in urban cultural construction.

The exhibition, jointly hosted by Duoyunxuan Group and the Shanghai Art Museum, will run until March 18.