Photo: VCG

From the dazzling display of ancient gold at the Capital Museum in Beijing to the century-spanning qipao fashion show at the Shanghai Museum, from the avian-themed exhibition at the Chengdu Natural History Museum to a blockbuster Picasso exhibition at Shanghai's Museum of Art Pudong, cultural and art institutions across China rang in the New Year with a vibrant array of themed exhibitions. These events are drawing large crowds to museums and galleries, as visitors embrace the new year by immersing themselves in art and history. Standing before these objects that embody the passage of time and civilization, many find the spiritual resources needed to face a new beginning.

For many museums and art institutions in China, the period from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival has become a golden window for "artful cross-year" experiences. Compared to regular exhibitions, those held during this festive season often feature auspicious, joyful themes and place a premium on aesthetic beauty, reflecting the cultural desire for good fortune and well-being in the coming year. In Shanghai alone, statistics show that 47 open art museums hosted 120 exhibitions and 34 public education events during the New Year holiday, welcoming 43,000 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 10 percent. Meanwhile, 75 museums in the city saw a 19 percent rise in attendance, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Among the new exhibitions gaining buzz among young audiences on Chinese social media is the Shanghai Museum's qipao-themed show Glamour and Modernity Beyond Shanghai. The exhibition brings together more than a century's worth of qipao garments and rare fashion artifacts dating back to the 1910s. As one of China's most iconic traditional dresses, the qipao is celebrated through standout pieces, such as an off-white striped knit qipao and a warp-printed satin qipao adorned with vertical black, white and red rose stripes. These garments reflect the evolution of Shanghai's style in the 20th century, offering audiences a lens into the aesthetics and lifestyle of bygone eras, according to information provided by the Shanghai Museum.

As the new year began, crowds packed the exhibition halls of the National Museum of China in Beijing. Visitors stopped to carefully read the panels accompanying a collection of bronze ritual vessels unearthed from Tomb No. 1 at Wuwangdun in Huainan, East China's Anhui Province. Among the highlights of the ongoing exhibition are complete sets of bronze chime bells and stone chimes, exquisitely crafted jade pendants, and a lacquered wooden table inlaid with painted dragon and phoenix motifs. The exhibition showcases the process of archaeological discovery, the achievements of the Chu state's material culture, and the cultural integration of the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC).

Having opened at the end of 2025, this exhibition became a choice for both tourists and Beijing residents during the New Year holiday. As they gaze at these artifacts, over two millennia old, visitors experience a remarkable convergence of three kinds of time: the historical era of the relics, the present moment, and the anticipation of the new year to come. This layered sense of time is a unique reward for beginning the year with an exhibition visit.

Qi Zong, a Beijing resident, chose to spend the holiday at this show. He told the Global Times on Sunday that the experience felt like a dialogue with a civilization spanning millennia, filling him with hope for the new year - another irreplaceable link in the long chain of history.

Beyond the exhibitions of history and culture, the Chengdu Natural History Museum (the Museum of Chengdu University of Technology) has launched a special Birds in Flight show for the holiday. Over 200 rare bird specimens are on display, accompanied by more than 100 striking photographs of endangered species, satisfying young visitors' curiosity about nature and life itself. According to a staff member at the museum, more than 16,000 visitors were drawn to the museum during the three-day New Year's holiday.