The most startling section, however, is calligraphy today, which is arranged like the sitting room of a contemporary middle-class Chinese family.
Viewers find calligraphy in every corner of the room, along with oil paintings, posh bar tables and chairs, casual leather sofas, a white, slim screen TV set, and glistening crystal bulbs and lamps.
The background music is upbeat jazz, a sharp contrast to the low-key guqin music available in the section for traditional Chinese homes.
"Many people today see Chinese calligraphy as a pure art form far removed from daily living, which is not true," curator Yang Yingshi says.
"Since ancient times, calligraphy has been an integral part of daily life I believe it will continue to be but in a new way."
"This is fantastic! I've never seen such a show that gives calligraphy so many possibilities for modern living," says Mao Guifang, a visitor from Beijing.
Mao was impressed by Zhu Qingsheng's mural-like crimson calligraphy, which resembles the iconic Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara at first sight.
She also loved an installation work by Shanghai artist, Wang Nanming, created by rolling paper sheets with hand-written Chinese characters into numerous small balls, and then lining and sticking them together on a square board.
But Mao admits she found some of the experimental calligraphy works, such as the strange characters created by Gu Wenda and Sa Benjie, "baffling and even impossible to decipher".
"This exhibition reminds people of a much wider space and diverse forms of existence for calligraphy in the new century," says museum dean Fan.
To cultivate an interest in traditional art, the museum has been inviting families to drawing and calligraphy lessons. The festive show ends on March 3.
By Zhu Linyong
Editor: Liu Fang
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