A piece from Xiesheng Zhenqin Tu (a painting scroll of precious birds) by Zhao Ji, or Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wang, who runs the museum cluster, says half of the exhibited works at the show are from their collection, while the rest are on loan from some 20 collectors, both from home and abroad.

Xie Xiaodong, who co-curated the exhibition along with Beijing-based ink artist Hao Liang, says the collectors shared the most iconic pieces, many of which are of museum quality.

Xie says some of the collectors have amassed their cultural assets partly through public auctions. Their pieces account for a bulk of quality Song and Yuan pieces that have been auctioned at home and international sales.

Other exhibits are family treasures that have been passed down for generations and have never come onto the open market, he says.

"Therefore, the exhibition offers a glimpse of the quantity and quality of Song and Yuan artworks in private hands," he says.

"It provides rich examples for both ordinary viewers and scholars who can deepen their knowledge of the aesthetic traditions that have evolved since the Song period."

The works on display include Jushi Tie, a letter by Song politician and scholar Zeng Gong. It fetched 207 million yuan at a Beijing auction in May.

The calligraphy piece of 124 characters is the fourth costliest work of traditional Chinese art sold so far this year. Its buyer was Chinese media mogul Wang Zhongjun, a partner in a Shanghai art auction house that plans to hold its inaugural sale on Dec 22.

The exhibition also features works that represent the efforts of Chinese collectors to bring home art from abroad, such as Xiesheng Zhenqin Tu (a painting scroll of precious birds) by Zhao Ji, or Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He was also an acclaimed artist and avid sponsor of art.