An 18th-century oil painting by French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard is on display at the Invention of Louvre exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing, Jan 13, 2017. [Photo by Li Ping/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Invention of Louvre exhibition is divided into five parts, based on the 800-year-old history of the Louvre, taking visitors on a journey showing how the museum developed from a royal palace featuring mainly royal collections into an internationally popular grand museum today.

Over 70 percent of the Louvre's visitors are from places outside France, the museum's curator, Jean-Luc Martinez, is quoted in the introduction to the exhibition.

"Over the past decades, more and more Chinese have visited the Louvre and parts of the Louvre collections are now sent to China regularly to meet Chinese audiences," he wrote. "Through the Invention of Louvre exhibition, visitors will be able to review the development of the Louvre over the past eight centuries."

If you go:

Jan 13- March 31, National Museum of China, 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010 65116188.