Calligraphy and ink paintings from the National Museum of China are part of a new exhibition in Australia, which explores the grand historical sweep of Chinese art and calligraphy traditions.

The exhibition "The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting" at the National Museum of Australia showcases over 100 collections, featuring calligraphy works, ink paintings, and watercolor paintings.

The highlight is a rare 20-meter-long replication of an 18th-century scroll documenting Emperor Qianlong's 1751 southern inspection tour. The original consisted of 12 scroll paintings and 12 paper paintings. The scrolls were lost, but the National Museum of China collected all the paper paintings.

Qianlong was one of the most influential emperors in Chinese history.

An immersive animation brings the story of the scroll to life.

"I'm really tacking back by the very striking, nature of the work. It is very different from western calligraphy and water-color works," said Denholm Samaras, a journalist of Canberra Weekly Magzine.

"Through the exhibition, we hope to share with the Australian visitors the artistic interpretation of Chinese calligraphy and paintings on history and life, the aesthetic concept contained in it. The event will also be a good opportunity for us to accumulate more experience in holding international exhibitions. Chinese culture can be more easily understood by the world's visitors in our future exhibitions," said Shan Wei, Deputy Director of the National Museum of China.

The exhibition runs until July 28.

(Cover: Emperor Qianlong's southern inspection tour Scroll. /VCG Photo)