The ongoing Destined to Reform exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing features more than 550 paintings and sculptures by artists from Guangdong province since the early 20th century. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

A reproduction of his Jiangshan Ruci Duojiao (How Beautiful the Country Looks), is on show. Guan executed the 9-meter-long work with Fu Baoshi in 1959 on a State commission.

The ink-brush painting, which depicts a magnificent sunrise, was inspired by a poem by the late Chairman Mao Zedong.

Since its completion, it has adorned the entrance hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Contemporary artists such as Liang Quan, 69, are also represented at the show.

Liang, who has exhibited at home and abroad, explores the idea of "emptiness" in Zen Buddhism.

The exhibition also pays tribute to female artists from the first half of the 20th century.

One of them is He Xiangning (1878-1972), who is known today more as a social activist and as the wife of senior statesman Liao Zhongkai. Her paintings depict lions.

Li Jingkun, the head of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, says: "Good artworks are records of history, and by seeing them, one can trace the evolution of thought.

"Viewers can see how artists felt obliged to participate in social transformations."

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