Nanchang, a clash of old and new

A lonely deer painted on a scroll by Bada Shanren, displayed at the Bada Shanren Memorial Museum. [Photo by Rosemary Bolger/chinadaily.com.cn]

Many of his paintings feature just one tree or one animal, often a bird or deer. Our guide tells us this is because he was very lonely.

"He said, 'the ink is less, the tear is much'."

Our guide proudly declares just one of the works would sell for 120 million yuan. The three-inch thick steel doors guarding the entrance to the gallery rooms suggest this is no exaggeration.

Curator Wang Kaixuan says Bada Shanren, a pseudonym, is known not just for his skill, but his life during political upheaval.

Born Zhu Da in 1626, he was a descendant of the Ming Dynasty. At the demise of the Ming dynasty he retreated to the monastery for 40 years, before returning to paint under his new name.

"The paintings are a reflection of the social change that he lived through," Wang says.

Apart from the Gan River that divides Nanchang, Bada Shanren's literati scrolls are likely to be the only original pieces of the past a visitor will see, despite the city's 2,200-year history.