Traditionally, when the Spring Festival nears, the Chinese people post nianhua (New Year wooden paintings) to their doors to add to the festive air. Currently, 36 nianhua paintings are on display in the Wangfujing Palaeoanthropologic Cultural Relics Museum.

Fan Jingyi, exhibition manager at the Beijing Huaxie Cultural Development Company, which curated the exhibition, said the aim of the show is to publicize this folk art and hopefully make this tradition popular once again.

"It's fitting with the new year's atmosphere. Besides, these cultural traditions need to be exhibited in order to be publicized. Some of the younger generation might already be unfamiliar with nianhua," she said.

Nianhua started in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and its original purpose was to add color to the new year, said Li Shi, a member of the Beijing Folk Culture Association.

"The new year is a hopeful time for the Chinese. In order to have a merry year, the people choose colorful symbols that represent happiness or luck and paint them on the nianhua," he said.

The exhibition shows nianhua from the three most famous places, Yangjiafu in Weifang, Shandong Province, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Taohuawu in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The nianhua came directly from museums in these cities.

The content of the nianhua shows a development as well. The earlier paintings usually portray the caishen (the God of Wealth), expressing a wish for prosperity in the new year. But as the tradition evolved, more paintings featured narratives. For example, the exhibition shows a nianhua that features scenes from history books, such as Kongchengji, a scene depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Where: Wangfujing Palaeoanthropologic Cultural Relics Museum, No.1 Changan Street, Dongcheng district

When: Until March 25

Tickets: 10 yuan

Contact: 8518-6306