Exhibition of National Treasures of Painting and Calligraphy from the Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties

As a national art museum, the Shanghai Museum is located in the People's Plaza of Shanghai, at the intersection of Yan'an Dong and Henan Nan roads.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Museum, the grand "Exhibition of National Treasures of Painting and Calligraphy from the Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties" was held in the museum from December 1, 2002 to January 6, 2003, in collaboration with the National Palace Museum and the Liaoning Provincial Museum.

The exhibition covered an area of 1,580 square meters, displaying 72 "national treasures" of painting and calligraphy from the Jin (265-420), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties.

The works on display were so ancient, famous, and valued that most had rarely -- if ever -- been shown to the public. Many may never be shown again, at least not in the lifetime of anyone who saw this exhibition, so it was a priceless opportunity for them to have been displayed in one location.

During the 37 days of exhibition, the museum received more than 230,000 visitors, setting a record. Highly successful as it was, the exhibition was chosen as the Annual Top Ten News of Shanghai that year, causing an upsurge of passion for Chinese traditional culture and art among the people.

It would be very difficult to organize a similar-size exhibition again. The exhibition was a tribute to the vision and clout of the Shanghai Museum, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary that year. The works came from its own collection (32 items) and those of the National Palace Museum in Beijing (22 items) and the Liaoning Provincial Museum in Northeast China (18 items).

The exhibition won the Prize of Elaborate Works in the Sixth National Top Ten Museums (2003-2004) competition.