Ancient and contemporary woodblock New Year paintings produced in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province are highlighted at the exhibition Splendid Beginnings on Woodblocks at the Capital Museum in Beijing from Friday.

Woodblock painting celebrates a history of more than a millennium in China. Traditionally, when Spring Festival came, Chinese people hung New Year pictures on their doors to ward off evil spirits and pray for safety and good fortune.

Since the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province have become important production and consumption areas for woodblock New Year paintings and, for centuries, the auspicious pictures created in this region have presented diverse themes and local features, according to Sun Ke, curator of the exhibition.

Co-organized by the Capital Museum, Tianjin Museum and Hebei Museum, as well as the specialized museum for woodblock New Year pictures in Hebei's Wuqiang county, the exhibition displays 120 sets of works, of which the woodblocks were produced during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to modern days.

The exhibition runs until April 24.