Gold-award winning ceramic work "Speed" by Meng Fuwei [Global Times]

Apart from award-winning pieces such as "The Young Couple," a wide range of works reflect historic events in today's fast-developing China, including the 2008 Olympic Games and the Sichuan earthquake.

A large-scale ceramic artwork, "Speed," by young artist Meng Fuwei won the gold medal for ceramics, a newly-added category in this year's catalogue.

"Speed" depicts people racing to the rescue after the earthquake. The artist witnessed the scene in his hometown in Qingchuan county, one of the areas severely damaged by the quake, with a terrible loss of life.

Medics, soldiers and figures from every walk of life are depicted as they try to save lives amid the earthquake rubble.

"I myself was heartbroken when I saw my hometown almost ruined," said the artist. "It's my only theme of artistic creation since last year." "A great artist should always keep close eyes on what is happening around him or her," commented Yang.

"Reflecting their times is a responsibility of artists."

Ceramic art was added to the exhibit to give a boost to this traditional craft in China, according to Fan Di'an, director of the National Art Museum of China.

Fan said that with a more than 1,000-year history, ceramic art now faces its own dilemma of whether to remain a traditional craft or reflect the reality of changing times.

"As an old art, ceramic art needs to be refreshed in modern day life," Fan said, adding that reflecting social reality might be a way to maintain the vitality of ceramics.

"By adding the ceramic art section we are trying to encourage more artists to engage in ceramic art creativity," he said. "Their talents are needed in this old art field."