Landscape Painting has for centuries been the most important style of Chinese painting.  Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Landscape Painting has evolved into its position as the mainstream of Chinese painting, in place of portrait painting.

From the 28th August to the 7th of September, an exhibition of contemporary Chinese landscape painting is being held at the Wan Fung Art Gallery in Beijing.

For the uninitiated, fully understand Chinese landscape paintings is not always easy because one must first know the work's historical and cultural background. Painters often create pieces from a historical point of view.

Today, Chinese landscape paintings have not only become recognizable to more and more people but are also highly appreciated in th eyes of many westerners.

Several representative works from 12 famous contemporary landscape artists will be on display this time around. These artists are: Zhang Bu, Xu Xi, Yang Yanwen, Du Yingqiang, Liu Maoshan, Feng Linzhang, Liu Yongming, Song Di, Zhao Wuchao, Huang Gesheng, Xue Liang and Feng Yiming.

According to staff  at the Wan Fung Art Gallery, since the implementation of the policy of reform and opening-up in the 1980s', there has been a major breakthrough in traditional landscape painting due to the widening of views and more active ways of thinking, as well as improved painting conditions now available in China. With over 20 years of competition and development in Chinese-style painting, new representative painters have sprung up who are renowned for their exclusive styles, excellent skills and popular aesthetic values. And all the twelve painters listed above can be included in this elite group.

Let's have a close look at some of these artists.

Zhang Bu's modern depictions of Chinese mountains and rivers are noted for their full use of colour. His passion for painting, and for the majesty of nature, are evident in this bold and unconstrained choice of bright colors.

Xu Xi's works carry the spirit of the times and places he paints, also reminding us of a strong sense of vitality; this is especially true of his pictures depicting water villages in Jiangnan, or south of the Yangtze River.

Liu Maoshan's works are characterized by a distinctive, colorful, poetic style. He also specializes in painting water villages in Jiangnan. In recent years, he has visited Japan, the UK, the USA and Hong Kong, where he held solo exhibitions as well as participating in several cultural and academic exchanges. His works are highly acclaimed, and collected by many museums and galleries in China and overseas.

Before travelling to Beijing, the exhibition had previously been on show in Shanghai - in July - and will continue on to Hong Kong and Guangdong in the months to come.