Treasures from the Duo Yun Xuan Collection Unveiled in Shanghai

A sweeping survey of Chinese artistic heritage has opened at the Shanghai Art Museum, offering visitors a rare glimpse into more than a thousand years of cultural history.

Titled "Millennia in the Clouds – Masterpieces from the Duo Yun Xuan Collection," the exhibition is now on view through March 18, 2026. It is jointly organized by Duo Yun Xuan Group and Shanghai Art Museum.

Drawn from the renowned holdings of Duo Yun Xuan – the Shanghai-based art publisher and cultural institution with a legacy stretching back 126 years – the exhibition assembles 105 rare works and sets spanning dynasties, mediums and artistic traditions. The selection ranges from Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) ink manuscripts and Song Dynasty (AD 906-1279) painting albums to Ming and Qing calligraphy and painting, alongside Tianhuang stone carvings, rare books, stele rubbings and seal art.

The exhibition arrives in the Year of the Horse, and fittingly, several of its most striking works center on that enduring symbol. At its core are three original paintings by Xu Beihong, whose galloping horses have become synonymous with modern Chinese ink painting.

Masterpieces by leading 19th- and 20th-century figures – including Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo and Zhang Daqian – appear alongside examples of woodblock watermark printing, the intricate, labor-intensive technique that Duo Yun Xuan helped preserve and elevate into a nationally recognized form of intangible cultural heritage.

Organized into three sections – painting and calligraphy, bronzes and literati objects, and woodblock watermark prints – the exhibition juxtaposes traditional aesthetics with contemporary exhibition design. Digital interpretation and modern display technologies deepen engagement while maintaining the contemplative rhythms associated with classical art viewing.