Students attending a class at Tsinghua University in Beijing in 1979. [Photo by Gu Dehua/cpanet.org.cn]

China's reform and opening-up has brought robust economic growth to the country and tremendous changes to people's lives.

Forty years have rolled by since the policy was adopted in 1978. But Chinese photographers' camera lenses have helped capture the country's milestone moments, as well as the precious memories in ordinary people lives.

The exhibition China: 40 Years Through the Lens takes visitors down memory lane with more than 200 images, all being shown at the National Museum of China in downtown Beijing.