Yangliuqing New Year Pictures had originated during the reign  of Emperor Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and prospered in the reigns of Emperor Yongzheng, Qianlong and Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). With a long history and distinctive local flavor, the pictures are much adored by ordinary people.

Yangliuqing New Year Pictures combine woodcarving, watermarking and color painting, retain the techniques of folk paintings, and are influenced by the Qing painting workshops. Its subjects mainly include drama stories, beautiful women and plump moppets, as well as josses, door gods, images of beauties, boy and girl attendants to a god or goddess, auspicious pictures, birds and beasts, flowers, water and mountain landscapes, characters from  dramas and legends. However, festivity and auspiciousness are always the main themes of Yangliuqing New Year Pictures.

Yangliuqing New Year Pictures combine delineation, woodcarving, overprinting, color painting and mounting techniques; and feature an exquisite touch, smooth lines, elaborate techniques, lifelike color paintings and a vivid luster, especially the color paintings of human faces, which are fine, bright and true to life.

 The making of Yangliuqing New Year Pictures

Making a Yangliuqing New Year Picture generally adheres to the following five steps: drawing the outline, printing patterns on paper , painting the patterns and mounting the picture. Each picture is an independent creation. Unlike some artists, artisans of Yangliuqing New Year Pictures must stand erect during the process and paint on "door planks".

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