Legend of eternity

A three-year excavation project that took place over a century ago, in Hunan province, stunned the world. The Hunan Museum, collaborating with the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, unearthed from three tombs dated to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) over 3,000 objects of refinement and artistry, such as lacquer wood wares, painted potteries, copper wares and silk clothes, among other types of antiquities.

The tombs were believed to have housed three members of an aristocratic family: Chancellor Li Cang of the Changsha state, his wife Xin Zhui and their son Li Xi. The remains of Xin Zhui were well-preserved, and her fingerprints were still intact, making Lady Xin Zhui a symbol of eternal beauty. Looking Back Fifty Years, an exhibition at Suzhou Museum, Jiangsu province, unfolds the political, social and cultural landscapes of the Han empire, by gathering selected artifacts from the Mawangdui tombs, named after the village where the archaeological site is situated in.

The variety of objects once being used by the Li family and adorning their mansion, as well as the vivid patterns, offer a glimpse of the production level and fine lifestyle of the Han ruling class. Also, they reveal how people back then viewed their relationship with the universe and the philosophical take on the afterlife. The exhibition runs through to Jan 29.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 204 Dongbei Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu province. 0512-6757-5666.

Oil works

Zhejiang province was an important hub for oil painting, helping the medium to take root in China in the early 20th century. It used to attract celebrated oil artists and educators. The China Academy of Art, which was established in the provincial capital Hangzhou, in 1928, has cultivated generations of talent in the realm throughout decades. Prominent figures include Lin Fengmian, Zao Wou-ki, Wu Guanzhong and Chu Teh-chun, to name a few. The Zhejiang Art Museum is holding Artist's Elegance, an exhibition running until Feb 12, which reviews the development of oil art in the province, featuring works of celebrated painters who have greatly shaped the landscape of art in the country. And it celebrates the cultural accumulations of Zhejiang in Chinese art history and its experimental spirit in embracing new trends.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 138 Nanshan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. 0571-8707-8700.

Mutual exchanges

Since the late 1980s, the Tokyo Gallery has been playing a major role in the exchanges between Chinese and Japanese art. It held exhibitions to introduce leading figures in contemporary Chinese art to Japanese viewers. In 2002, it opened the Beijing Tokyo Art Projects space in the 798 art zone, serving as a platform for artists in China, Japan and other Asian countries. It is now holding Resonance, a Sino-Japanese exchange exhibition, through to Jan 7. Curated by Wei Xiangqi, the show teams up 23 artists to display their distinctive approaches to work and spiritual worlds. Some of their works deliver the scope and depth of history, some reflect a strong sense of self-awareness and feminine consciousness, and others examine the mentality of city dwellers.

11 am-5 pm, closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. E02 Ceramic 3rd Street, 798 art zone, Chaoyang district. 010-5978-4838.