Modern 'tradition'
The "citywalk" is trending among urban youth these days. The daka-style tours (the word translates as "punch card") are designed to allow them to check in at popular spots, take photos and sometimes make short vlogs, and share them on social media networks. It's a modern take on the ancient tradition of artists painting landscapes and composing poems and then writing them on the paintings to share impressions of their journeys with friends.
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) artist Wang Fu was well-versed in these artistic travelogues. In A Scroll of Eight Scenes of Beijing, he depicted well-known destinations — worth a daka visit — around the imperial capital and its suburbs on a 20-meter scroll. Wang served in the court of Ming emperor Zhu Di, and was one of his companions on two inspection tours around Beijing and the north.
A Scroll of Eight Scenes of Beijing is currently on show as part of Ancient Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, a long-term exhibition at the National Museum of China that has taken 50 landscape paintings from the museum's collection dating from between the 15th and 19th centuries, and placed them on display.
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6511-6400.
