Embracing the Spring, Celebrating the Year of Snake, an exhibition that opened at the National Museum of China in Beijing on Wednesday, is not only a warm-up for Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 29, and the start of the Year of the Snake, but also ushers in a mood of spring hope.

On show are a range of artifacts, including bronze ware, classical paintings and porcelain — some of which once adorned imperial life — that embody messages of good fortune, longevity, and prosperity.

It is a celebration of the workmanship and creativity of ancient China.

Vases of flowers arranged in the classical style lend to the elegant atmosphere, reminders of the study rooms of the intellectuals of the past.