Display marks fresh direction for National Museum

Tsinghua University has long been known as a "cradle" for top scientists and technology entrepreneurs, yet a new exhibition aims to prove it has also produced its fair share of artistic talents.

The display opened on Monday at the National Museum of China and features 240 works, many of them award-winning pieces, created by 64 visual art professors in the 100-year-old college's academy of arts and design. Styles include traditional Chinese ink paintings, oil paintings and sculptures.

On show are important works by late art masters, such as Zhang Ding and Wu Guanzhong, both of whom died in 2010. One of Zhang's paintings, The Rooster, was famously used to design the first set of Chinese zodiac stamps in 1981. Several paintings feature some of the most representative architectures on the campus, such as the well-known lotus in the pond.

"It will remind the alumni of Tsinghua once people see the lotus. It has become the symbol of the university," said Yuan Yunfu, an acclaimed artist who painted the scene for this year's ongoing centenary celebrations.

Tsinghua University has a long tradition of aesthetic education and opened its art academy after merging with the prestigious Central Academy of Arts and Design in 1999.

The college's exhibition, which runs until May 7, is the first temporary show hosted by National Museum since it reopened on March 1, said curator and Tsinghua alumnus Lu Zhangshen.

"We've been very selective and cautious in holding exhibitions and it will be a test to see whether we have reached the world-class level, but we hope to have more cooperation with top academic institutions like Tsinghua in the future," he added.