What's on

The spiritual domain

Ancient Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, one of the long-term exhibitions at the National Museum of China, frequently rotates its diverse collection and features selections from an assembly of some 10,000 classic Chinese paintings and calligraphic pieces. It is currently displaying dozens of landscape paintings produced between the 15th and 19th centuries under the theme "Traveling Through Mountains and Waters".The mountain-and-water genre is one of the three main categories of classic Chinese painting. Painters depict not only the physical world before their eyes but also contemplate the relations between fullness and emptiness. The works on show reflect a high point in literati painting in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. This particular style distinguished paintings by intellectuals, especially those serving as imperial officials, from those by court artists and commercial painters. Literati painting normally combined a sought-after dialogue with the universe with a half-realistic, half-imagined approach to depict nature. Those on show include the famous Album of Eight Views of Beijing by Ming artist Wang Fu. The exhibition unveils to the audience the spiritual, aesthetic and philosophical world of the literati artists of past centuries.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.16 Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.

Graduation show

Having been through years of challenges, undergraduate students at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing are welcoming one of the most important moments in their school careers, the exhibition of graduation works, now being held at CAFA's art museum. The exhibition, which runs until June 20, exhibits works of various kinds filling several floors, overflowing into some of the school buildings. The exhibition presents these graduating students' explorations with art, as well as their participation in projects addressing social needs, such as the uplifting of urban spaces, rural vitalization and public art education. Tours have been organized for members of cultural institutions, creativity enterprises and other employers to provide more exposure for the students.

9:30 am-5:30 pm. 8 Huajiadi South Street, Chaoyang district, Beijing.010-6477-1575.

Painterly tales

Peng Wei is known for her works attempting to bring the tradition of ink-and-water paintings into the narratives of modern life. She works with canvas, installations and digital media to showcase not only her refined brushwork but also her explorations to enrich the ink art tradition, by telling the stories and communicating the complex emotions of modern people. Her current exhibition, A Room With a Story, running at Nanchizi Art Museum through to July 5, takes viewers to the past while keeping them grounded in the present, blending dreams, memory and reality, examining concepts of truth and falsehood. Some of the works on show are suspended in midair. The layout of the exhibition hall resembles a corridor to present a mysterious atmosphere. The design is intended to recollect the murals in millennium-old caves of Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu province, as well as the Renaissance frescoes of Italy, in which she saw endless stories of the cycles of life and found inspiration for her work.

10 am-1 pm, 2-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 21 Pudu Temple West Alleyway, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6528-1891.