On the occasion, the gallery will hold a large-scale art exhibition and five permanent collection exhibitions.

The art exhibition entitled "Open Times" will occupy nine exhibition halls on the first floor of the building, displaying representative works of 126 Chinese painters born after 1940.

On the second and third floors, occupying six exhibition halls, is a permanent collection exhibition entitled "A Century's Fine Arts -- Masterpieces from the Collection of the National Art Gallery." This exhibition assembles 120 pieces of art by 100 veteran artists, reviewing the development of fine arts in China in the 20th century in the fields of traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, engraving and sculpture.

The other four permanent collection exhibitions include selected folk paper-cuts, Wuxi painted sculptures, donated artistic works by the late sculptor Liu Kaiqu, and donated paintings by the Ludwigs of Germany.

"These masterpieces are selected from a collection of more than 20,000 Chinese modern art products and over 40,000 folk art objects. The exhibitions will turn over a new page in the history of the gallery," said Yang Lizhou, a renowned painter and curator of the national art museum.

Located on May 4th Road in Beijing, the art gallery was completed in 1962. It was seriously damaged by the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake. However, the building was not reinforced against earthquakes until 1989.

This time, the country allocated 19 million yuan (about US$2.4 million) for extensive renovations of the gallery that started in May 2002. Besides enlarging the exhibition space, workers have installed ultraviolet-proof lighting equipment, advanced surveillance and warning systems, and constant-temperature and constant-humidity systems inside the building.

Unlike most Western art museums whose collections are usually arranged based on different schools of painting, the China National Museum of Fine Arts showcases its collection in a chronological order, according to Yang. Basically, the Palace Museum of Beijing collects art treasures before 1919, while the National Art Gallery exhibits Chinese works of art produced since 1919.

Over a long period of time, tied down by a shortage of collections and funds, the gallery was more like an exhibition center, serving for both highbrow and lowbrow art, Yang complained. However, thanks to increasing international cooperation, in recent years the gallery has collected more than 100 foreign masterpieces including four pieces of Pablo Picasso's original works, representing over a dozen world famous schools of painting. Also, an extension to the gallery is scheduled to be completed in 2007, a year before the Beijing Olympic Games. By then a multi-purpose art center for collections, exhibitions, broadcasting, communication and outdoor sculptures will emerge. "We've made a start on the gallery's expansion into a first-rate art museum," Yang said.

In his initial design for the galley, architect Dai Nianci drew on the architectural style of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province, which date from 366. Thanks to Dai's endeavors in the 1950s and 1960s, the art gallery turned out to be exceptionally rich in both oriental and western flavors. In the newly completed refurbishment, stone materials have been used to stress the gallery's national characteristics. "Stone stands for eternity, adding to the solemnity and elegance of the building," Yang said.

The arrangement of the exhibits in the refreshed gallery has been a process of seeking a wide range of opinions from experts such as Shao Dazhen, Xu Naixiang, Ding Xiaoyu and Liu Xilin in order to attain optimum and satisfactory results.

Meanwhile, more seating and 12 new bathrooms inside the building will make the galley an ideal holiday resort for future viewers who can stroll in the newly built ring corridor.

On July 23, "an art palace putting on an entirely new look will live up to the expectations of the public," Yang said with full confidence.

(China.org.cn, translated by Shao Da, July 18, 2003)