Some 200 brick carvings were on display at Taiyuan Art Museum on Jan 6, providing visitors with a variety of different styles of carving.

The exhibition, organized by North University of China, aims to improve public understanding of the art of brick carving, promote Shanxi folk arts and culture among the public, and encourage locals to preserve their cultural heritage.

There are three themed parts of the exhibition demonstrating the origins and development of traditional brick carving in the province, especially its contemporary innovation.

With the first exhibition ending on Jan 20, the display will tour 10 cities across Shanxi over the coming 12 months. During the tour, seminars on the protection and development of Shanxi brick carving will take place.

Brick carving includes many patterns on the tiles, such as famous legends and flowers. It was once a kind of decorative art only used in palaces and temples in ancient China. Later, the carving techniques were widely adopted in the homes of ordinary people, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), as many Shanxi merchants applied brick carving to the design of their residences to indicate wealth.

In 2008, Shanxi residential brick carving, with the carving in Qingxu county chosen as a representative example, was selected as a national intangible cultural heritage.