The private Xi'an Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts is a pioneering institution in many ways, especially when it comes to displaying murals. Chen Nan reports.

In October 2011, when Zhou Tianyou took the position as the director of the Xi'an Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts, he had big plans for it. So, when it officially opened to the public on July 31, 2012, he curated an exhibition which displays ancient Chinese murals.

Titled Origin and History of Ancient Chinese Murals, the permanent exhibition set in a 1,000-square-meter hall, features 88 panels (67 of them original) from the Neolithic period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

With murals unearthed in Shaanxi province serving as the main foundation, the exhibition is also the result of partnerships with about 20 national museums and archaeological institutes from 13 Chinese regions and provinces, including the Palace Museum in Beijing, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Gansu Provincial Museum as well as the Gansu Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

At the museum, visitors can see murals, such as a piece titled Dancing Men from the Neolithic age from the Gansu Provincial Museum, a gold suit of armor dating back about 2,700 years and a 1-meter-tall stone Buddha head.