Old Masters: Australia’s Great Bark Artists, an exhibition featuring a delicate and rare collection of aboriginal bark paintings from Australia, is on show at the National Museum of China in Beijing.

The exhibition features 123 bark paintings, as well as 18 carvings, three log coffins, and 10 painting tools, representing a significant collection of aboriginal barks.

Bark paintings are designs painted in earth ochres, on the smooth inner surface of sheets of bark from stringybark eucalyptus trees. The origin of the practice of painting on bark cannot be determined, but all the patterns, according to Mathew Trinca, the director of the National Museum of Australia, are handed down through generations, tracing back to cultural relics from when aboriginal people first inhabited the Australian continent.

The 123 barks on display were painted between 1948 and 1985, by master painters including Yirawala and Narritjin Maymuru, Mawalan Marika, David Malangi, and their contemporaries, who brought one of the oldest continuous traditions of art into the modern era. From three different regions—Western, Central, and Eastern Arnhem Land, the featured artists are good representatives of the different painting styles of each region.

Intricate designs such as sketches of animals, birds, and hunting scenes reflect a rich and diverse culture, with each symbol and pattern enriched with specific mythological origins and implications. Indicating the close bond between human beings and nature, the paintings are mainly multicolored with natural colors: deep red, chrome yellow, white and brown.

The exhibition will last until September 2, and will tour to venues across China over the course of 20 months afterwards.

9am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday until Sep 2. RMB 50 (adults), RMB 30 (students). National Museum of China (16 East Chang’an Avenue, Dongcheng District; 6511 6400; info@chnmuseum.cn).

Photos: National Museum of Australia

Is your family back from the holiday break and looking for something fun to do before the kids head back to school next Monday? Consider taking them to the National Museum of China. Though the large museum is known to attract a large number of visitors daily, it still remains spacious; meaning parents visiting with young children don’t need to worry about their little ones getting lost in the crowd.

The permanent exhibitions of the museum include Ancient China and The Road of Rejuvenation along with countless other exhibitions based on art in ancient China. The museum also holds short term exhibitions that have been met with wide acclaim such as the recent celebration of the 50-year anniversary of diplomatic, cultural and literary relations with France and the current exhibition of Rome/Seventeenth Century: Towards Baroque. Even if you can’t make it this weekend, the Towards Baroque exhibition will continue until the end of February 2015 and patrons can buy tickets separately inside the museum for RMB 30 per person. Other current international exhibitions include: Maya, the Language of Beauty, a classic French exhibition themed Rodin, l’oeuvre d’une vie(the work of a lifetime) as well as an untitled exhibition displaying a selection of African sculptures.

If parents or kids you get tired of browsing the displays, there are four benches on each floor to sit down and relax. On the second floor there’s cafe and bookshop, while on the southeast side of this floor, the museum offers kids a “study universe,” comprised of several small globe-shaped compartments.

Every month the museum organizes different events to help children understand more about ancient Chinese culture, jewels, and silk weaving. Interested families can sign up to be young tour guides to visitors of the museum.

Free tickets can be collected with a valid ID or passport at the ticket office.

Opening hours of the museum are Tuesday-Sunday 9am – 5pm (tickets are issued until 3:30pm and last admission is at 4pm). The museum also remains open during public holidays.

Tel: 6511 6400