"The other distinct feature of the items is a shared dose of positive energy," Wang says. Her own painting, where a young woman gives birth on her own in a cornfield, is one such example. She has treasured the image of the self-reliant woman in her memory for almost 50 years.

"It's not easy to see an exhibition on such a scale," says Lu Yushun, vice-president of China National Academy of Painting.

"You have access to almost any genre and topic you can think of," he says.