Qian Songyan is ranked among the greatest creators of classic Chinese mountain-and-water paintings in the 20th century. His works are in a collection of important museums such as the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, which has mounted surveyed exhibitions of his work.

Recently, the museum has received two paintings from two members of Qian's family, Lin Xiaoshan and Sun Jie. The couple donated two landscape paintings from the early 1960s, representing Qian's endeavor in combining cultural traditions with the artistic need in the socialist construction era

One painting is Ode to Yan'an, which depicts the landmark pagoda rising high on the mountain in Yan'an, deemed the hub of the Chinese communist course in Shaanxi province. Another work is Xiling Gorge which shows ranges of mountains along the Yangtze River to constitute a marvelous view of the Xiling Gorge, one of the largest of its kind on the Three Gorges on Yangtze. They are in reminiscence to Qian's approach of infusing realism with revolutionary romanticism.