New Year pictures on view in Shanghai

The Shanghai History Museum is hosting an exhibition of New Year pictures celebrating the New Year and Spring Festival – the lunar New Year. Chinese New Year pictures, aka Nianhuaamong Chinese, are a type of chromatic woodblock prints that boast a long history dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

Posting New Year pictures that bear auspicious meanings in the home has been a well-kept custom in China. Popular subjects include historical tales, legends, happy children and patterns representing good wishes. It was only in the 1930s that new images appeared, portraying contemporary issues and social life. After 1949, prints depicting urban lifestyle and the close ties between Chinese leaders and the people emerged.

The exhibition showcases 87 sets of artwork from the collections of the Shanghai History Museum and the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, created over the centuries in workshops of New Year pictures from 27 production bases in China. During the exhibition, running through March 1, visitors can participate in interactive events, such as print-making and traditional Spring Festival games.

Click here to learn more.

If you go:

9:00-17:00, Tuesday -Sunday,Shanghai History Museum, No. 325, Nanjing Xilu, Huangpu district, Shanghai. 021-63232504,021-23299999. 上海黃浦區(qū)南京西路325號(hào),上海市歷史博物館