What's on

Diverse cultures

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region in North China is a destination of serenity and poetic beauty for many visitors. The extensive plateau horizons, with some distinctive mountains, grasslands and wetlands and other geographic features, have been attracting tourists. A painting exhibition now on at the Shenzhen Art Museum, Guangdong province, unfolds a panoramic view of Inner Mongolia by showing its natural magnificence, rich culture and improvement in ecological conditions. The exhibition, running through to April 23, is a tour show mounted by Inner Mongolia Art Museum. It is also a celebration of the region's history of being crisscrossed by agricultural and nomadic civilizations, and the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers, all of which contributed to the development of diverse ethnic cultures there.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 32 Donghu Yijie, inside Donghu Park, Aiguo Road, Luohu district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province. 0755-2542-6069.

Sino-German links

In his most revered writing, Lantingji Xu (Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion), the 4th-century calligrapher Wang Xizhi created a phrase, youmu chenghuai, meaning "let the eye travel extensively so that the heart and mind are set free". The traditional cultural philosophy is that people should travel as often and far as possible so that their vision widens and their minds open more. View, the Landscape on the Bridge, an exhibition at TAG Art Museum in Qingdao, Shandong province, traces the journeys of modern Chinese artists to carry on this tradition in a new context: They traveled much further around the world, compared to their predecessors in ancient times, to a different continent and embraced different styles of art. Fan Di'an, dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the China Artists Association, the show's curator, has got together 37 Chinese artists who worked and lived in Germany in the past four decades. It shows their exploration of art and cultural observations. The exhibition, running through to May 14, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany.

9 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays. 1111 Yinshatan (Silver Beach) Road, West Coast New Area, Qingdao, Shandong province. 0532-8667-1111.

Lacquer tradition

Hubei province is one of the earliest regions in the country to apply coatings of lacquer to materials such as wood, bamboo and cloth for the production of decorative works. Such items were found during archaeological work in the province. The objects embody an Eastern cultural spirit and aesthetic value. It is viewed as a duty by artists today in the province to preserve the fine tradition of lacquer art and to translate the form into a modern social context. One example is the presentation of Hubei Lacquer Art Triennial, first held in 2010, which has won recognition from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The new edition has made a comeback at Hubei Museum of Art in Wuhan, the provincial capital, and runs through to May 18. This year's exhibition, World of Lacquer: Change and Connection, shows more than 200 works by Chinese and foreign artists, presenting the richness of lacquer as a material and a working method to inspire the constant creativity of artists.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.1 Sanguandian, Donghu Road, Wuchang district, Wuhan, Hubei province.027-8679-6062.

China Daily