The Louvre comes to China with exhibit on its history

The Inventions of Louvre exhibition in Beijing features Egyptian stele. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

The National Museum of China will host an exhibition of the art from the Louvre, it announced on its WeChat channel on Jan 6.

The social-media announcement, which included photos of artworks, was viewed about 80,000 times within a week.

Many left comments declaring anticipation. Some who'd visited the Paris museum hoped to view more of its trove. Some from other parts of the country planned to travel to Beijing for the show, Inventions of Louvre, which opened on Thursday.

The show Inventions of Louvre displays 126 paintings, sculptures and antiquities from the museum's eight curatorial departments and the affiliated National Museum of Eugene Delacroix.

The exhibition reviews the Louvre's evolution from a military fortress to a royal palace and finally to a modern museum that's one of the planet's most popular tourist sites.

It also examines how its assembly of arts and crafts has been built, researched, conserved and toured as the Louvre has expanded.

The exhibition, which runs through the end of March, expects an influx of visitors since it'll coincide with China's Spring Festival holiday from Jan 27 to Feb 2.

The last time Chinese had such a spectacular opportunity to view French art was 2014, when the National Museum hosted a special exhibition to mark 50 years of Sino-French diplomatic relations.

On show were 10 paintings by eight masters on loan from five renowned French museums. The Louvre brought three pieces.

The two-month show drew 93,500 viewers. The National Museum extended its hours so that more people could visit.