A commemorative exhibition in Beijing is showing Zong's famous pieces.[Photo provided to China Daily]

His works include some of the most beautiful places across the country, such as the Three Gorges, and the Huangpu and the Lijiang rivers.

The exhibition, titled Harmonized Beauty, is on at the museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where Zong taught for several decades until his retirement in 1987.

It is one of a series of activities ahead of the academy's 100th anniversary in 2018.

Yu Yang, the exhibition's curator, says Zong's output demonstrates his sensitivity to light and color.

He says Zong painted the lights in the war-torn era to show the sheer tenacity of the people in the face of the invasion, and in peacetime to celebrate the beauty of the country.

Fan Di'an, the academy's head, says Zong opened new ground in the traditional realm of mountain-and-water painting.

"Through the illuminated mountain towns, bridges, towers and sailing boats, Zong envisioned a spiritual place."

Zong's oeuvre includes natural landscapes, flower-and-bird paintings, portraits of ethnic groups and watercolors. They are also on show at the exhibition.

Zong's paintings from the 1940s portray people who struggled for a living, such as boat haulers and woman workers in cities.