An exhibition at the China Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing is proving to be a comprehensive review of Chinese oil paintings during the past 30 years of reform and opening up. Among the more eye-catching pieces are works focusing on the life of ethnic minorities in the country.

This painting is titled "A Tajik Bride." It's one of the most representative portraits by Jin Shangyi, a renowned Chinese oil painter. Createdin the 1983, it retains traditional Chinese aesthetics while borrowing western techniques. Over the decades, it has been considered a monumental work both in Jin Shangyi's personal career and among the contemporary oil paintings of China.

"The Song of the Plateau" and "Rising Sun", both of which achieved sensational success twenty years ago, are the work of Zhan Jianjun. These pieces were produced during the height of Zhan's career. In creating these two masterpieces, Zhan travelled extensively in the ethnic Tibetan areas in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. The works effectively convey the spiritual innocence and strength and stoicism of the plateau residents.

Chen Danqing is another artist famed for his treatment of the snow-covered highlands in West China. The seven-painting series on Tibetan life in the 1980s made Chen one of the foremost contemporary artists in China. Through their touching realism, the works reveal the true essence of the centuries-old culture.