China's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is staging an exhibition of paintings by renowned Chinese masters, many of which are shown to the public for the first time.

The Jan. 28 - Apr. 23 exhibition shows 89 masterpieces of 42 famous Chinese painters, including Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Xu Beihong, depicting natural scenery, figures, flowers and birds.

The venue of the exhibition is the newly-renovated Wuying Palace, which was destroyed by fire during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) and had been renovated for nine times since the Palace Museum was founded in 1925.

With tremendous ideological and social changes in the first half of the 20th century, Chinese painting has become a major carrier to record the great transformation as some painters stick to the traditional way of drawing and others turn to western techniques.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, academic workshops will be held by the ancient book and painting study center of the Palace Museum.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2006)