May 18 marks the International Museum Day. On that day, Changzhou Museum launched a special exhibition of the paintings in the 20th century, with three series in total. The first series, with a theme of bird-and-flower paintings, will last until July 3.

During the last century, profound changes were witnessed in the style of Chinese paintings. The exhibitions will focus on bird-and-flower paintings, landscape paintings and portrait paintings in China, to demonstrate the social culture and concept changes of the last century.

In the first series, there will be 20 pieces of bird-and-flower paintings, covering the major styles of this genre. In Chinese culture, birds and flowers are a symbol of auspiciousness, longevity, and noble characters. Since the mid-Qing Dynasty, there have emerged numerous renowned artists in bird-and-flower paintings. In the 20th century, apart from the meticulous way of depicting flowers and birds, a simple and looser style of painting gave new life to this genre.