SINGAPORE, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two shows presenting traditional Chinese New Year paintings kicked off here Tuesday evening.

The Parkview Museum Singapore hosted the exhibition called "Breezing Willow - A Fine Collection of Ancient New Year Paintings from the National Art Museum of China(NAMOC)", and the China Cultural Centre of Singapore staged the show named "Auspicious Blessings for the Chinese New Year - Selected Folk Art Masterpieces from the Collections of the NAMOC".

The first show featured 127 new year wood block paintings from Yangliuqing town in northern China's Tianjin Municipality. With a history ranging from the Qing Dynasty till the early years of the last century, the works were put on the wall on New Year's Eve and usually expressed people's good wishes for the upcoming new year.

These wooden engravings also depicted scenes from the traditional folk stories and operas, and even reflected the happenings in the early years of last century.

Besides the well-known Yangliuqing paintings, paper-cutting and embroidery were among the 40 exhibits at the second show at the China Cultural Centre.

Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore Que Xiaohua, Director of the China Cultural Centre in Singapore Xiao Jianghua were among those officiating at the opening ceremony held at the Parkview Museum.

Que said in his speech that the shows are part of the overseas Happy Chinese New Year cultural events initiated by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, adding that the works reflect the lives, beliefs and traditions of the Chinese society, and will help the Singaporean audiences to deepen their understanding of China.