The opening ceremony of the 2012 harmonious Datong & the Famous Works Exhibition of Chinese Paintings was held in the Heyang Art Gallery on the morning of Oct 29. The one-week exhibition collected traditional Chinese paintings from 160 famous contemporary painters, Datong Daily reported.

The exhibition collected high-quality Chinese paintings from some 160 contemporary painters, including Liu Dawei, Guo Yizong, Zhang Daoxing, Li Baolin, Du Ziling and Long Rui.

The exhibition will also host a large fellowship activity and academic exchange. An exhibition portfolio was debuted at the opening ceremony.

Geng Yanbo, mayor of Datong, and Li Shijie, executive vice-mayor, attended the ceremony. Geng expressed his warm welcome to all artists on behalf of the municipal government and extended his sincere thanks to those who support the event.

President of Chinese Artists’ Association Liu Dawei sent a letter of congratulations. Vice-chairmen of the Chinese Painting Institute Zhang Daoxing and Yang Lizhou attended the ceremony.

Yang Lizhou delivered a speech on behalf of the organization committee of the exhibition. “2012 harmonious Datong & the Famous Works Exhibition of Chinese Paintings is outstanding among exhibitions in recent years because most of the participating painters are highly skilled in traditional Chinese paintings. Their modern works manage to further promote the prevailing positive attitudes in society and reflect the urge for social development," said Yang. "As a time-honored city, Datong is not only rich in cultural heritages and beautiful scenery, but also full of artistic areas. We hope such activity could further promote the local construction of a spiritual civilization."