An ancient ardor-themed Chinese painting exhibition held its launching ceremony in the entrance hall of Chenshan Botanical Garden on May 15, 2013.

The exhibition aims to publicize the beauty of ancient ardor trees in Shanghai in a combination of innovative and traditional methods. Altogether, visitors can see 49 paintings in the exhibition depicting the characteristic ancient trees in Shencheng city in the traditional Chinese way. The exhibition will last for one month.

Shanghai is not rich in ancient arbors, having only 1,566 across 79 species, most of them, including eight that are more than 1,000 years old, are ginkgo trees. The majority of Shanghai's ancient arbors stand in ancient temples, tombs, residences and gardens in counties, mostly in Songjiang district.

Chinese traditional painting and ancient arbors are both common but are rarely seen together. How can the vigorousness of the trees be depicted with ink, and the force of branches be tasted from brush strokes? The 49 paintings will provide us with the answer with a telling and enriched history of Shanghai ancient arbors, coupled with an aim to provoke people's awareness in protecting ancient trees.

By Guo Chang

Edited by Michael Thai